In My Blood
by Medusa101
Summary: When Stasi dies and appears in Middle Earth, she learns that her life, future and race are tied to a father she never got the chance to know. As Gandalf's 'companion', she finds herself on a quest to restore a kingdom and kill a dragon while her new capabilities as a Seer telling her that death is right around the corner.
1. Chapter 1

**RE: I own nothing but the small sub plot and my OCs, the rest of it is are works of Tolkien and the 'The Hobbit' films**

 **Hi all,**

 **Thank you for clicking on my Fanfiction. I'm proud to present yet** _ **another**_ **'** **The Hobbit' fanfiction and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Please nothing but** _ **constructive criticism**_ **, I can deal with someone being blunt but I don't need to deal with rudeness.**

 **Also, as usual my chapters are what I would consider long (at around 5,000 words each) and I'm planning for there to be fluff and some angst… although I** _ **hate**_ **too much angst so I'll keep a skeptical eye on how much of that there is.**

 **This fanfiction isn't** _ **completely**_ **based on the events of The Hobbit, as in, I'll probably extend it** _ **past**_ **the events.**

 **And lastly, my OC is Stasi. I just need to say that this Fanfiction is not one of those where the real story behind it is the OC's relationship with whomever she falls in love with. I want her to have people she likes that aren't just her 'beloved'. As in, there'll be heavily detailed relationships with a** _ **lot**_ **of characters. Just starting out I'm going to mention Nori, Bofur and Gandalf.**

 **Anyways, this** _ **is**_ **a romance fic, I love romance, don't judge ;-). It's specifically Fili x OC.**

 **Loads of love and thank you if you read my A/N, Medusa101**

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

 **Chapter 1: I love dying**

It was an unusually cold night, and frost had formed thickly on my windshield. I had spent half an hour wiping it off with my sleeve – which had come out _soaked_.

Beside me, my dog Remy had stirred with discomfort the whole time, he, unlike me had the comfort of a thick wool sweater… I mean, seriously my fat heavily furred dog had more protection against the cold than I did. What was the world coming too?

Then again, thinking back on it, he probably looked hilarious, so, at least there was some humor in the situation. Some. Not that much.

I let him into the car halfway through the ice removal process and he slid into the driver's seat, put his paw on the horn, and then let out a howl of shock when the horn actually ' _honked'_. I snorted when he fell over, and seconds later, he appeared back up within my line of sight, his snout pointed at the offending wheel and with a strangely human-like aghast look on his face.

When I had finished wiping the ice away (no thanks to Jack Frost… you may not believe in him but at this point I'd believe in anything), I pushed Remy back to the passenger seat and slowly drove out of the office block.

Honestly, crashing was the last thing on my mind when I pulled onto the highway and passed the beautiful scenery of shit-filled cow pastures.

It had been a long day at the office, and Robert, the man who completely _refused_ to leave me alone had hit on me the whole time. And let me tell you, if ugly had a sister it'd be him. And yes, I meant to say _sister_.

Anyway, my mind was on one thing and one thing only. Watching a very cheesy chick flick and eating a bucket of ice cream. And I mean a _whole_ bucket of ice cream.

Yeah, I never really got there.

The frost had been real frost (obviously) because somehow, the car slid. Straight under a moving semi, and next thing I knew the world had gone black.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

 _I was shocked when my Mom had presented me with the present. She was there in the doorway of my house looking as beautiful as ever, and in her arms was clutched a small floppy and wrinkly puppy._

" _Holy shit."_

 _Possibly not my best reaction but my Mom was used to it. In fact, I was similar enough to her, (although more like my Dad but I wouldn't know, I had never really met him, so she had just always told me that) to have the same abrupt and pretty funny reactions, jokes and sarcasm._

"' _Holy'... yes, 'Shit'... not really, but I wanted to give you your very own puppy," she said handing off the dog to me._

 _He was a small clumsy looking thing with a fawn colored coat, a pushed in snout and so far, a heavy amount of drool that was already collecting over my arms (I swear he was a literal slime machine). His paws were massive and the first thing he did when he was settled in my arm was let out a smelly fart._

" _Oh… oh god…" I wrinkled my nose as the smell faded and my Mom closed the door behind her a slightly sheepish look on her face._

" _Yeah, I think he got gas in the car, I'm not gonna lie."_

" _No shit… euugh," we moved to the couch as the puppy began exploring and biting at my hoodie – thus leaving slobber trails that smelled suspiciously of bananas, "so… what is he, is he a mutt or a purebred?"_

" _He's a pure bred… and he was expensive so be careful with him," she said, "he's a Dogue de Bordeaux."_

" _Oh… what's that?"_

 _My Mom's eyes were wide with her typical excited but nervous expression and I raised an eyebrow at her, "They're a French mastiff," she explained, "the owner said that they're good guards."_

 _I smiled as the puppy pointed his face into mine and blinked owlishly as if memorizing every feature I had, "How big is he gonna get?" I asked, a smile growing over my face._

" _Big."_

 _I glanced to her, a sudden suspicious look on my face, "you took into account the fact that I live in an apartment right?" I asked._

 _She opened her mouth and then closed it again,"... Yeah, I'm not going to lie, I hadn't really thought about it."_

 _I shot her a look, feeling slightly desperate. I could by no means keep some huge Mastiff of a dog in an apartment this size, anyway, my job kept me pretty busy. Glancing down again to the puppy I found his eyes staring like embers into mine, he wasn't begging but at that moment I found myself realizing that there was no way I was going to give this dog away._

 _And glancing into the hopeful gaze of my mother, I found my assumptions further affirmed, "I'm going to keep him Mom but I'll need some help."_

 _Then, she smiled. And let me tell you something, my Mom's smile is literally the most beautiful thing ever. Actually, in general, my mother is the most beautiful thing ever… but, her smile might just top that. She looked so different compared to me. Her eyes were a soft brown and her hair fell in waves to her shoulders. She had cut bangs on her forehead and her eyebrows were perfectly thin and arched. When she smiled, I think stars erupted everywhere, her beauty was completely unmatchable and while I was pretty much comfortable with how I looked, it was nothing compared to Mom_

" _I love you so much sweet-pea and always, always will I help you," she said reaching out and grabbing my hand, "just like you help me every day."_

 _When I looked in her eyes I saw the deep sadness in them that was a rare thing on her permanently happy face. I myself was saddened but squeezing her hand I smiled, and as if I had squeezed the unhappiness away, so it faded._

 _Wait… I wonder how big his shits will get?_

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

My head hurt so much when I woke up I was honestly sure there was some loony in my head with a sledgehammer that was just waiting to be throttled.

 _The accident._ That was the first thing that popped in my head, and then; _okay, maybe there's no loony in my head…_ moving on.

The next thing that came rather obvious was that I couldn't lift my head and that I was literally inhaling dirt. I let out a hoarse cough and started jerking… which worked surprisingly enough and whatever had been laying on me moved off of my head.

Rolling over I spat out leaves and other things of similar nature, and seconds later the familiar face of Remy came into view, his muzzle and nose snuffling at my face. He smelled like dog. _How surprising._

"Geroff you twat," I scolded jokingly, pushing his head away and standing up.

The moment I did that, the whole world swayed. For a second, I felt like vomiting, and leaning on my knees I blinked rapidly taking in deep breaths as I urged the nausea away. And when I stood to my full height I slowly realized why I had been so dizzy. I was tiny.

Now, Remy stood to a shoulder height of about 28 inches and normally I would be around three feet and a few inches taller than him. But now I was only two feet taller than him. To say that Remy looked shocked would be an understatement. His muzzle had wrinkled up almost as if he was growling and his brow had furrowed, his head tipped to the side and a slime of drool had... actually that wasn't part of his confused expression, the drool was normal.

So, he stared at me in shock for approximately 5 seconds before taking a long suspicious sniff, stepping forward and letting out a bark of desperation. And then, I promptly fainted.

Which is the smart thing to do, obviously.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

 _Whack._

One of the things most people are aware of is the fact that waking a 'someone' up by hitting them upside the head does not equal a happy 'someone'. And no, I was by no means a happy someone.

Whatever had hit me was hard, and it hurt. My first thought was, _please let Remy attack the idiot._ When there was no further sounds of snarls or growls I opened my eyes and let my gaze travel up, up and up. First, my eyes were met with thick grey woolly booted feet, then a sort of grey tunic, and then, the offending object that had been used to hit me, a long stick. As I looked further up I began to feel smaller and smaller until my gaze finally stopped at a face.

And then I realized that _I_ , was actually very young… the man was wrinkled and aged with weathered skin, a thick brow and creases below his eyes and on his forehead. Upon his chin was a grizzled old beard and I was able to see matching hair. His nose was thick and large as were his eyebrows, and below those bushy brows were a pair of eyes that were a soft and shiny blue.

It was then that I realized that the man did not end with a head as such, but instead, sitting upon the crown of his hairline sat a long but crooked hat that matched the grey of his tunic. This hat had a pointed tip and the brow was perfectly round and it cast a shadow upon his features.

There were several things I should've done in that moment (1) backed away as he was quite close to me (2) asked him who he was (3)and stood up. But, instead, like your normal idiot, I continued to gape.

"Do get up from there, I don't have all day and I shan't stay in such a place," he said at an pace that astounded me, how his old wrinkled face managed to move so quickly was shocking, "We are much too far outside of the borders of the Shire to be safe, and to leave a stray maiden... let alone a _Fairy_ maiden would be unsafe."

You see, a lot of times, when a person is in a state of shock, they don't act rationally, and me, who was very much in a state of shock stood to her feet and followed the tall straight backed old man away from the clearing I had laid in. Slowly as I followed him, questions began to seep into my mind.

Where were we? Why was I hear? Why was I so short... and where the hell was Remy? Also… where was the nearest McDonalds?

"You are not a quiet thinker."

I jumped a little at his words before stilling, "I can hear you biting your nail... which is most unbecoming of a lady might I add... and you seem to be feeling rather uncomfortable," he said, continuing to speak quickly, while puffing a pipe that seemed to come from nowhere.

 _Someone's perceptive._

I opened my mouth and closed it again, then, a fiery spark of indignation shot through me, "who are you? Where am I? Why am I so small and where, _where_ is Remy? Also, why did you wake me up by hitting me, that's just rude."

The man glanced back, amusement marring his weather beaten features as he sized my small form up and down, "You are much like your mother," he said before turning forwards, well _someone_ just wasn't normal.

"My name is Gandalf the Grey, you are in Middle Earth, much more accurately, only a few kilometers from Bree and your change in size is due to the fact that you are a Dwarf... oh, and I have no idea whatsoever of who this Remy is," the… _Gandalf the Grey_ wheezed slowly. He had a voice that was old, aged and airy with a nasally quality to it.

I took a second to process what the Wizard was saying, "Firstly... it's nice to meet you, my name is Stasi," I began (at least _I_ hadn't forgotten the few manners I had), "secondly I don't know where Middle Earth or Bree is, thirdly I am _not_ a Dwarf... I don't know why you'd think I'd be a Dwarf. That's kind of rude actually. Anyway; fourthly, Remy is my dog and he means everything to me."

The Wizard glanced back at me, a curious look on his face, "It would seem to me that your Mother never told you of Middle Earth, perhaps she knew not that you would live here? Tell me, are you _sure_ you've never heard of Middle Earth?"

"Eh... erm... I mean, I've heard of _Earth_ before and I've heard of the Middle _East_ ," I attempted, "is that at all helpful?"

He frowned glancing back at me, "Miss Stasi, you are of the race of Dwarf because many, many years ago, your mother lived in Middle Earth and fell in love with a Dwarf," he said, "she herself had been changed into a Dwarf but once her task was finished she was sent home."

"What do you mean sent home?" I asked suspiciously, the concept of what was happening was slowly dawning on me.

"You, Miss Stasi, are from an entirely different realm."

Good god I wanted to faint – and hit him – at that moment, but, I held it together. Pulling at my sleeves and scrunching my brows, I stared at Gandalf for a long moment before running through what I knew in my head.

I had gotten hit by a Semi-truck and I had woken up here. Maybe I was dreaming... was I in a coma? Not that I could _tell_ really because, you see, here felt very real, in fact, I could smell the scent of pine, feel the ache of my head when Mr. Gandalf hit me (what a bully) and hear the sound of our feet on dried leaves.

So whatever was here and now was very real and I had no choice but to treat it as real life. That was my diagnosis… I mean conclusion.

Considering I had absolutely no idea where we were, I wasn't planning on scurrying away from the man any time soon because _he_ seemed to know where we were going.

So, whether I _believed_ him and _trusted_ him or not was still out on the table, but there was no chance that I was suddenly going to leave him. I _really_ wanted to hit him back.

What was really bugging me was the fact that he was saying that I was a Dwarf... and that my Mom had been a Dwarf... and that my Dad was a Dwarf. I never knew much about my Dad and I never questioned my Mom about him. I assumed she would talk about him in her own time, because I knew, _I knew_ that the pain in her eyes was from him, and the most annoying thing was is that I wanted to be angry at him for it.

But I knew that she loved him, which meant by default I loved him too. Ahh, the joy and drama of family life.

Anyways I only got small passing comments from my Mom about my Dad, and it was in those moments that I realized that my Dad had brought her some happiness;

'You have his eyes'

'He was just as rude and grumpy as you Stasi... my god you're so much like him.'

'You're warriors you and he... and I'm just a worrier, how am I gonna survive with you getting into trouble all the time.'

'You remind me of him.'

'He did that too'

'He liked that just as much as you do sweet pea.'

Through myself I realize that my Dad brought her happiness, not that _I_ was the happiness necessarily but when she said those things and when I looked in her eyes I could see the adoration and the affection she had for him… anyway, if he was so much like me who wouldn't have liked him?

"You said something about a task," I ventured to say, pulling myself away from thoughts about my Dad and pushing them away for later visits. "Do I have a task?"

Gandalf nodded, he had slowed so I could walk beside him, "I know little of why you are here but what has been shown to me by the Valar," he said, "all I know is you will dream of the future and you will prevent what had once been thought to be the inevitable. Your mother was charged with a similar task and she died trying, once that happened she was sent home as will you be. Although I fear you have little chance of surviving if you fail because sending you back to your home realm will be sending you to your death."

I glanced up at him, confusion in my gaze for a moment until I understood, "The crash."

"I know not what happened only that your body in which realm you have come from is on the brink of life and death," he said.

I allowed myself to think through what Mr. Gandalf was telling me. Apparently if this 'Valar' sent me home, I would die, meaning if I failed, I would die. Also meaning that the only way I could survive was by _not_ failing, but that in turn meant that I would never go home… unless I asked… and then I would promptly die. Wow… there's a lot of dying in that.

"Wait… so I can't actually go home?" I asked, skepticism alive in my heated tone.

"No."

He was abrupt and to the point, and while it should've angered me that he had no sympathy for my situation, it didn't. Instead, I felt incredibly helpless and uncertain about what I could do. There was only one thing… okay, more than one thing I wanted.

I wanted to know where Remy was.

I wanted to go home, but, in turn…

I wanted to not die.

I wanted to know what was this task so I could at least be sure I would live…

Actually, I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to know…

Okay, so I was having a bit of a conundrum. See, I didn't want to stay in this realm… world… whatever the hell, I wanted to go home (and to McDonalds). But to go home, I'd have to not fail at some task which, although seemed logical, I didn't want to do things logically and I just wanted to skip the whole task thing and go _home_.

Also, how did Gandalf know if this 'Valar' would let me leave? They could be evil! I mean, they brought me here in the first place.

At the moment, I had two choices, ask questions or cry. I chose the first of the options, opting to cry when I wasn't around a strangely dressed man (and trust me, when I escaped Mr. Gandalf, there would be crying… _lots_ ), "I'm not a seer, so I can't be of much use."

"You will drink from the fountain of Galadriel and _become_ a seer. Few are gifted with that, and most who are…" he paused and shuffled uncomfortably. "die once they have drunk," he said quickly.

I opened my mouth, closed my mouth and attempted at speaking, "…Wha… _why_ does every single situation have to end with me having a fifty percent chance of dying?"

The wizard didn't answer my question.

"Once you become a seer you will stay with me, as the Valar have appointed me as your guardian," he said after a pause.

"What? No. I'm a grown woman, I don't need a guardian."

"Yes, but you also happen to be a grown woman who has absolutely no idea of what Middle Earth is and what it's like," he pointed out dryly, "in fact, you will be more blind and naïve than a child of Middle Earth."

I was slightly insulted but allowed the comment to pass, "Fine… but how do you know this 'Valar' will allow me to stay here?"

When he glanced back at me, his eyes were full of sadness and memories that threatened to spill, "They always, _always_ give you a choice," he said before turning back.

I wondered why Gandalf seemed so affected by my question, but I chose not to ask him. I barely knew him, and at the moment, I was just coming to terms with the fact that he was real and 'Middle Earth' was my forever home.

"Oh, I'd almost forgotten," he said, "you see, Dwarves are not compatible to be seer's. But, a Fairy, a close relative of the Dwarf are."

"Okay… wait, first I was a Dwarf and now I'm a fairy?" I asked, my voice laced with anger.

"Don't be so vexed my girl, you are basically a Dwarf," he said, "anyhow, Dwarves don't come in your skin tone."

I closed my eyes slowly and took a deep breath in. Have you noticed that when someone tells you stop getting so annoyed… It doesn't really work. you get _more_ annoyed? Yeah, that was one of those moments. Also, he hadn't even answered my question.

"Okay," I accepted rolling my eyes. Of course, I was still brimming with questions, but so far, I knew I was stuck here possibly for the rest of my life. I knew I had a task to accomplish, but to accomplish this task and to not die, I would have to drink from a fountain that would possibly kill me. Also, Remy was still missing, "also, my dog was here when I first woke up…"

"Ah, of course," Gandalf said, "I know not where he is but I assume he ran off when I came… will the dog not track you?"

"He's a mastiff they don't track… I never _trained_ him to track anything," I snapped.

"It's a natural trait," Gandalf assured me. I wasn't assured.

But, nonetheless, I chose not to worry about Remy. He was smart, he'd find me somehow… hopefully. Instead I listened as Gandalf told me of Middle Earth, and _holy shit_ I was shocked.

The first thing that I learned was that there were more than one humanoid creature unlike Earth. There were elves, human, Dunedain, Dwarves and Fae (me) and as he said, much more that he wouldn't bother speak about.

Next, I was told of what a Fae was exactly; a Fae, is just a creature appointed by the Valar with magical giftings. That's it. So I _am_ a Dwarf.

He finished with that and I frowned suddenly.

"Is my Dad a Dwarf or a Fae?" I asked.

"A Dwarf."

I glanced up at him, wishing for him to elaborate, "…What's his name… what's he like?"

This time, when he glanced down at me, I could see the small smile on his face, "That is for you to find out in your own time," he said, "I have a few possessions of your family heirloom that should make it easier."

It was then we heard a bark, and I let out a sigh of relief as a familiar shape bounded to me, "Remy… but you'll tell me who my Dad is right?"

He just glanced at me, and I had absolutely no energy to argue with him. Instead I decided that I would bring it up later, "Where are we going?"

"Bree," he said, "and then, onwards to the fountain of Galadriel."

I was in no mood to go to Bree or to the Fountain of Galadriel – not that I knew what either were really – but I let out a resigned sigh and followed him.

Life could really throw shit-ball's… but honestly, I wasn't sure if this was a shit-ball. Because shit-ball's are always and completely bad, and this wasn't _completely bad._ Maybe it's a chocolate ball, not a shit-ball.

 _So this is how it feels to be in a coma. Lovely._


	2. Chapter 2

**RE: I own nothing but the small sub plot and my OCs, the rest of it is are works of Tolkien and the 'The Hobbit' films.**

 _ **Hey, thanks to all the people who sent me comments. All of them were well received and I was actually pretty nervous that I'd get someone ranting on about how bad my writing was.**_

 _ **I'm now aware that my character is a bit of a Mary Sue and I'll make sure to change that, although this chapter**_ _ **is**_ __ _ **pre-written so it'll happen mostly in the future chapters. Thanks a lot for the comment, please keep giving them!**_

 _ **Medusa101**_

 **Chapter 2: Thorin Oakenshield and Poor Sod**

Perhaps it was the thought that I had spent a year in Middle Earth or perhaps it was simply the fact that I was in Bree, but I desperately wanted to get drunk.

In fact, that had been my plan until Gandalf had told me we were meeting a Dwarf called 'Thorin Oakenshield'. I wasn't stupid (well not completely stupid anyway), I knew by now the stories of The King Under the Mountain and the great dragon Smaug who had destroyed a whole kingdom and killed most of its inhabitants. It was a tragic story, and I _really_ wasn't in the mood for tragicness or a broody Dwarf.

"You are aware that today is a year _to date_ that I've been in Middle Earth?" I asked, a trace of annoyance in my voice.

The year in Middle Earth had completely changed me, I had appeared in normal clothes from home, and now, I found myself with not one item from home. I wore heavily furred boots, trousers that fit my now thinning thighs(I was muscular… I mean, I didn't know I could _get_ muscular), a slim tunic that fell to the top of my thighs, a undercoat that was made of fleece, an overcoat of leather, and a heavy duty cloak. I had also acquired several weapons including a heavy dagger that held my family heirloom (Gandalf had given to me), twin swords, and a small axe.

As Gandalf had said when I had arrived, he would provide several items that would help me find my family. There was a letter my father had written, there was a notebook with a set of heavily detailed drawings, there was the dagger, and last but not least, there was a necklace with a heirloom charm on it.

My family heirloom was a heavily detailed star, with the same amount of corners to the Star of David only they were longer and the shape was completely filled in with gold. The actual trinket on the necklace was tiny but upon closer study I had realized that there were intricate carvings of swirls and circles inside the actual star. The best part, at the very bottom tip of the star there was a sword attached (A tiny sword obviously) that, was also intricately designed. The trinket hung off of a pure gold chain that was as thin as one of those factory made ones back at home. Every day when I stared I was shocked at the talent of the Dwarves… of us… _so weird_.

I had, of course, acquired a travelling pack which, thanks to Gandalf allowing me to do a few jobs here and there I had managed to afford proper bedding material, two extra sets of clothing, an extra cloak, a bowl that could act as a plate, a formula made by the elves that stopped my monthly period and a notebook (with charcoal).

"Yes and you have not yet accomplished your task," Gandalf reminded me, I had over time, grown a fondness for the wandering man who had turned out to be a wizard.

I liked to think that he felt the same for me… although that was highly unlikely, "I will stay with you until then, who knows, if I convince the Dwarf –which is unlikely if he is anywhere as stubborn as you – this may _be_ your task."

I gave him a look but, as I did most of the time with the Wizard, I let the comment slide, "Does he know we're coming or are you surprising him like you normally do?"

Gandalf had the annoying habit of surprising people he didn't know, and meddling in their business, it was always, _always_ annoying for me who was assumed to be his apprentice, "If I told Thorin Oakenshield that I'd like to stop and talk to him in Bree and meddle in his business do you think he'd be more or less willing to speak to me."

 _He wouldn't be willing anyway,_ I thought sarcastically and by the way Gandalf was narrowing his eyes at me, he was well aware of my sarcastic thinking, "I don't know Gandalf, have you ever though that you'd have more friends if you stopped surprising suspicious people… or _interacting_ with overly suspicious people?"

"Now why should Thorin Oakenshield be suspicious?" Gandalf asked.

"He's a Dwarf for gods' sake Gandalf, isn't that answer enough?" I asked, momentarily forgetting I myself was a Dwarf. It was when Gandalf glanced at me that I rolled my eyes and dropped the subject.

Bree was terrible for weather, it was almost always rainy, in fact, not once when I had been there had it not been rainy. Then again, I'd only been in Bree twice. Poor Remy, trotting by my side with nothing but his fur (for once I had something warmer on than him).

We arrived outside the Prancing Pony and upon entering, I chose to keep my cloak on, it was the wiser thing to do in such a place. The tavern was filled with sketchy men and women, a pure black cat sat hunched on the bar as we passed and I pulled my hood down. Men and women glowered and jeered down at me but stopped short at the sight of Gandalf. My gaze flew to my first sighting of a Dwarf in all my time in Middle Earth.

Thorin Oakenshield sat in the center of the tavern, in front of him was a bowl of broth and two pieces of bread. He was, so far, not at all like I'd expected a Dwarf to look. He was a dressed in layer upon layer of clothing, thick materials that looked to be of good quality. His hair fell to below his shoulders in black waves with streaks of grey here and there. His nose was long and heavily sculpted and his chin was covered in a harsh and thick beard that had, like his hair, grey streaks. His eyebrows were thick but grey, not black and they were almost see through. The Dwarfs shoulders were broad like a tree and he held strength in the regal and authoritative way that he sat.

My eyes were drawn however to the main feature on his face; his eyes. They were beautiful but a rare beautiful like the sharp blue that you'd find in the thickest of ices or the darkest of oceans. I had imagined Dwarves to be mostly unattractive creatures as I had been told in fables but looking at Thorin Oakenshield I was shocked, _well, he's hot_ , I decided glancing to Gandalf who seemed to be concentrating on something else.

Not entirely surprising, I was almost positively that Gandalf had absolutely no knowledge of the word ' _attractive'._ I had always imagined him as a 90 year old homeless person gone wrong.

Shady men stood all around the tavern, but the three that I picked out had one thing in common. Like us, they were staring at our Dwarf, and he was staring back at them. I watched as his hand wrapped around his sword, and it was at that moment that Gandalf plopped himself down in the seat in front of the Dwarf.

 _Someone's socially inept,_ I thought rolling my eyes.

Thorin Oakenshield's beautiful gaze fell to us, shock entering it when he spied myself who had been pulled down into the seat beside Gandalf, "Mind if I join you?" the Wizard asked.

I raised an eyebrow, _usually you ask that after you sit down._

"I'll have the same," Gandalf said to the waitress, utterly unaware of the suspicious glances that were cast to myself and himself by the Dwarf in front of us, the wizard finally glanced to Mr. Oakenshield, "I should introduce myself. My name is Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey."

The Dwarf looked neither elated to see Gandalf or awed, "I know who you are," he said bluntly before turning his icy gaze to me, "I know not of your Dwarven companion."

Gandalf glanced to me. Normally, when we met someone new, Gandalf would cut me off when I tried to say something, "…what you want… oh, Stasi at your service," I said, making sure to use the greeting Gandalf had instructed me to.

"Thorin Oakenshield at yours," Mr. Oakenshield said with a slow dip of his head.

Gandalf, as per usual, sprung right into it, "Well now! This is a fine chance. What brings Thorin Oakenshield to Bree?"

Thorin glanced around, then to me, and then to Gandalf, "I received word that my father had been seen wandering the Wilds near Dunland. I went looking… and found no sign of him."

It was then that Gandalf grew solemn and I glanced to him, "Thorin, it's been a long time since anything but rumor was heard of Thrain."

It was a typical dismissal and I knew what Gandalf was trying to say, it was his way of saying 'your father's dead Thorin'. I had heard it more than once before.

"He still lives; I am sure of it," Thorin said. Passion rose in his voice and he glanced around suddenly, almost as if he had forgotten himself.

The waitress chose that moment to set Gandalf's plate in front of him and Thorin's gaze flashed with suspicion, from what I could see, the Dwarf was always on edge, "My father came to see you before he went missing. What did you say to him?" he asked, a desperation forced into a tone he tried to keep calm.

Gandalf did not hesitate, "I urged him to march upon Erebor; to rally the seven armies of the dwarves, to destroy the dragon and take back the Lonely Mountain. And I would say the same to you. Take back your homeland."

Thorin took his mug, taking a sip and frowning, "This is no chance meeting, is it, Gandalf?"

"No, it is not. The Lonely Mountain troubles me, Thorin. That dragon has sat there long enough, sooner or later, darker minds will turn toward Erebor," he said, "I ran into some unsavory characters whilst traveling along the Greenway. They mistook me for a vagabond."

"I imagine they regretted that," Thorin said at the same time as I said, 'they regretted that'.

We glanced to each other and I saw a small uplift of his lips before he turned back to the matter at hand, Gandalf the Grey was not smiling, "One of them was carrying a message," he said, laying out a sheet. I had seen maps before of the Lonely Mountain but the type of speech written into the cloth had never been associated with it.

"It's Black Speech," I said frowning as Thorin reached for it, he shot me a suspicious look but I dismissed it.

"It's promise of payment," Gandalf explained.

"For what?" Thorin asked.

I had made out the words quickly, one of the things that Gandalf had taught me was many different types of speech. Including Sindarian and black speech, "Your head," I said, my nose wrinkled and I stole a bun from Gandalf's plate.

"Someone wants you dead," Gandalf agreed rather abruptly, not at all noticing that I had stolen bread, "Thorin, you can wait no longer. You are the heir to the throne of Durin; unite the armies of the dwarves. Together you have the might and power to retake Erebor. Summon a meeting of the seven dwarf families, demand they stand by their oaths."

Thorin shook his head, as if he had thought such things through, "The seven armies swore that oath to the one who wields the King's Jewel, the Arkenstone! It is the only thing that will unite them, and in case you have forgotten, that jewel was stolen by…"

"Heads," I interrupted, watching as the shady men left, "that cannot be good."

Gandalf leaned in, "what if I were to help you to reclaim it?"

"How?" Thorin asked, scoffing, "The Arkenstone lies half a world away, buried beneath the feet of a fire-breathing dragon."

It was then that I noticed the gleam in Gandalf's eyes and my own eyes widened in horror, "no… you're not planning to…"

"Yes, I am," Gandalf interrupted sending me a scowl, "we are going to need a burglar."

I glanced to Thorin Oakenshield, his blue eyes scanned my own and I decided to glance away. Beautiful his eyes may have been, but pretty damn scary as well.

"A burglar?" I hissed in slight shock, "you're planning to _steal_ the Arkenstone from the _dragon_?!"

Gandalf gave me a contemplative half smile, "I don't see why not, it's not as if he can be awake," he said, "not after all this silence from the mountain."

"He's right," agreed Thorin, "gone are the days when you could see smoke in the distance floating from Erebor, there is only a long and still silence."

"Yes, but an _asleep_ dragon also means an _alive_ dragon," I said shaking my head in disagreement, "it is quite unlikely that this dragon is dead, they are practically immortal if not murdered."

"Yes, he will have to be dealt with if he is actually _in_ the mountain," Gandalf agreed somewhat dismissively, "that should be difficult, heroes are scarce these days, let alone actual Dragon slayers. They're all off fighting each other in the North."

I blinked slowly and frowned, "are Dragon slayers actually a thing?" I asked, "I've never heard of that."

"Most likely because they die while or after killing the dragon or because… well, the dragon isn't very big," Gandalf said, "I've never actually heard of any _large_ dragons killed."

I tipped my head to the side and gave Gandalf a look of confusion, "and does Master Oakenshield's dragon constitute as a large Dragon?"

Gandalf nodded, "quite so."

 _We're fucked,_ I nodded slowly raising an eyebrow slightly skeptically, "so burglary it is."

Master Oakenshield who had been quiet for this part of the conversation glanced up at Gandalf in what I had decided was his signatory way. It was a dangerous upwards glance, and in my opinion, it prevented any man from looking down on him (not physically), for despite his smaller size, Thorin Oakenshield was quiet daunting, "where shall we find a burglar? Not just any thieving wretch can make it past a dragon."

"Also… who would _try_ and steal from a dragon? I mean, our burglar's gonna be mad, the…"

Gandalf began to get up from his seat, "You leave that to me. Within a week you will be aware of where and when to meet, I bid you a farewell Thorin Oakenshield," he said before glancing at me, "we must travel to the west and then to the Shire Stasi, for I get the feeling that we will find our burglar, and our courage there."

I raised an eyebrow at him before turning to Thorin, "thank you Master Oakenshield," I said curtsying, "may the Valar bless the time our paths cross again," I said, _oh god, what have I gotten myself into? Also… since when did I do formal good-bye's?_

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

Our trip to the west seemed to go by in a flash. I had never ventured to such a place as the Shire, but I found myself enjoying the simple beauty of green rolling hills, fertile fields and grasses, the happy laughs and giggle of children and general hum of family life.

The Shire was a beautiful place, completely stuffed with the simplest of loves and the most cherished peace. That was why the inhabitants of the Shire (the Hobbits) did not like us.

We were shot overwhelmingly suspicious glances as we marched through small neatened footpaths but following after the Grey Wizard, I dutifully ignored them and blamed it on Gandalf; he looked sketchy.

Anyway, my mind was filled to the brim with curiosity that stemmed from the fact that, we were actually looking for a Burglar. Why I was so curious, was because I would not have though that we could find a burglar in such a place that considered passerby's (although we technically weren't even that) disturbers of the peace.

I had assumed that our burglar would be some Hobbit that was a little different from the rest, I don't know maybe hairier. But no, our Hobbit was in fact, the most average Hobbit you could quite possibly get in all of The Shire

Bilbo Baggins was a small man; average for a Hobbit but small for one of my kind. He donned a head of curly brown hair that sprung from his scalp like twisted vines, and his average sized hedgehog-like nose was twitchy. His eyebrows were smooth and thick, and his face held Niki Minaj length lashes (meaning unnaturally long) that shielded a pair of hazel eyes. He wore a rumpled but expensive waistcoat, shortened trousers that fell to his calves, a neat undershirt, and in his hand, he clutched a pipe.

He sat on a small garden bench, his legs neatly crossed as he puffed away at his pipe like your average crack head… kind of anyway. He seemed unaware that we had stopped, so much so, that his eyes closed in bliss as the sun hit his face. Not to say that I blamed him, his garden was beautiful, daisies, tansy's, pretty much every manner of plant was there in abundance and I could smell the sweet smell of flowers.

His hobbit hole was a shiny round green door that had been dug into one of the larger hills, meaning that he was most likely one of the more wealthy hobbits… which would explain his slightly prominent belly.

 _Ignorance is bliss_ , was my first thought as an especially large circle of pipe weed smoke came our way and Gandalf eyed it. In a second the Wizard had transformed it into some sort of flapping smoke creature and it landed right on the Hobbits nose. Then, Bilbo Baggins opened his eyes, fanned at the smoke, coughed, and allowed his gaze to land on Gandalf, _well, ignorance was bliss._

The look on the Hobbits face transformed to one of confusion as it met my own gaze and then to one of horror as he spotted Remy beside me. The dog was huge compared to me and from what I could see, I was taller than the Hobbit.

Also, I was pretty convinced he had farted because there was a suspicious smell of nachos gone bad.

Mr. Baggins seemed startled, confused and slightly aghast, although, if I was being stared at by a grimy woman and a weird Wizard, I would be aghast as well. Actually… thinking back on it, he may have been aghast because of the fart.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, pushing his pipe back in his mouth, and then out again. His gaze never left us for a moment and neither did his expression, "Good morning."

I opened my mouth to say 'good morning' back, because that's what nice people _do_ , but Gandalf interrupted me, "What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or, perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning, or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?" Gandalf said.

 _And there we are again, spot on at being 'normal' Gandalf ,_ I thought to myself sarcastically, whilst desperately wishing I could be in any other place than right there. The poor Hobbit had an exceedingly confused look on his face… actually I was pretty sure that was his normal expression, "…all… all of them at once, I suppose?" he stuttered, glancing to me.

I gave him an apologetic smile while Gandalf looked on with notable disproval. Whereupon glancing back at the Wizard, Mr. Baggins looked completely bewildered, _poor sod._

Mr. Baggins chose to address the next question to me, seemingly slightly daunted with the look that Gandalf was giving him, "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

I made sure to speak up, "Well, we don't know for sure yet sir," I said honestly, choosing to call him sir instead of Mr. Baggins, I didn't want to creep him out… not that he wasn't already weirded out, "we're actually looking for someone who wants to share in on an adventure with us."

Gandalf hummed in agreement while Mr. Baggins jaw dropped to the floor, and he began to look slightly flustered as he pointed his pipe in our direction, "…an adventure? Now… I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures," he said, almost as if he were scolding us. I watched as he stood to his feet, grabbing at his mailbox and pulling a thick set of letters out, "Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner!"

 _Sassy,_ I decided with a raised eyebrow as he stuck his pipe (pointer) back in his mouth and began to grumble under his breath as he read through the letters. Gandalf and I stared onwards; Gandalf because he was still staring disapprovingly and myself because I was trying to figure out what he had against adventures.

Seemingly done with reading, he spared us a glance, hummed, bit at his pipe, nodded, and turned to leave, "Good morning."

Once again, I found myself interrupted by Gandalf as I made to say 'Good morning' back to Mr. Baggins: which is what a normal person should _do_ , "To think that I should have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took's son as if I were selling buttons at the door."

 _Is 'good morninged' a word?_

At that, Mr. Baggins spun around, a look of shock on his face at the reference to his mother. He seemed both shocked and suspicious now, there was even a hint of anger in his gaze, "Be… beg your pardon?" he asked, pulling the pipe away from his mouth.

Gandalf stepped closer to the gate and Bilbo's eyes shot to it, I could practically hear himself chanting in his head; _'_ _please don't come in, please don't come in, please don't come in'_.

Gandalf instead, had nothing of the sort in his mind – I could only hope – "You've changed, and not entirely for the better, Bilbo Baggins."

Poor Mr. Baggins, he looked so confused now, a hint of fear seemed to be sparkling its way into his gaze, "I… I'm sorry, do… do I know you?"

Gandalf seemed slightly irritated now, "Well, you know my name, although you don't remember I belong to it," he said, "I'm Gandalf and Gandalf means… _me._

It was then that Mr. Baggins seemingly recognized Gandalf, _well, no one cares about the Dwarf_ , I decided rolling my eyes.

"Not Gandalf, the wandering wizard, who made such _excellent_ fireworks!" he said stepping down one of the steps, and waving his pipe in our direction excitedly, "Old Took used to have them on Mid-Summer's Eve! I had no idea you were still in business."

My eyes widened slightly and Gandalf gave Mr. Baggins what could only be described as a black look, "And where else should I be?" he asked, a scowl settling upon his old and weathered face.

"Well..." Mr. Baggins trailed off with more awkwardness than a newborn deer trying to stand, and I bit at my nail, not sure whether to feel sympathetic for him or not.

I chose sympathy; _poor sod._

Gandalf, who had one of his trademark scowls on his face was still glaring at the poor Mr. Baggins, "Well, I'm pleased to find you remember something about me… even if it's only my fireworks," the Wizard said sulkily, "…well then, that's decided. It will be very good for you and most amusing for me. I shall inform the others."

Gandalf had been walking away and I had been following him, but Bilbo had grown completely pale, "Inform the… What? No, no, no! We do not want any adventures here, thank you! Not today! I suggest you try somewhere over the hill or across the water! Good morning!"

Gandalf and I both stopped as he stormed into his house and I watched with confusion as Gandalf opened Bilbo's miniature gate and made his way to the door of the Hobbit hole, "… _Janie mack!_ Gandalf what are you doing?! Leave the…"

There was a strangled yell to be heard from inside the house as Gandalf peered into one of the rounded windows and I rolled my eyes. Thankfully Gandalf left the Hobbit be and left Mr. Baggins garden, "what did you do?"

"…Remembers me for my _fireworks_ ," he said in annoyance as we made our way down the thin paths and past a grumpy looking Hobbit with a wheelbarrow of carrots, " _still in business_ , what is that supposed to mean?"

I left him with his musings and instead thought to myself; _where were we going to be meeting Thorin Oakenshield?_ Because without doubt, today was that day. A month's time since we had met him in Bree. And Gandalf hadn't said a word to me of it. _How unsurprising, the bloody wizard!_

What about the hobbit? How was he going to get to Bree when we had just left him? Actually, knowing Gandalf he'd kidnap him. _Poor sod._


	3. Chapter 3

**RE: I own nothing but the small sub plot and my OCs, the rest of it is are works of Tolkien and the 'The Hobbit' films.**

 **Chapter 3: Oh god there are so many!**

Gandalf never ever tells me anything, and when we reached Bree at around 5:00 I just _assumed_ that we'd meet Thorin Oakenshield there. How wrong could I be. I mean, you know what they say about assuming.

"Do tell me, dear Stasi, what are you doing?" Gandalf asked as I marched up to the desk, intent on booking a room.

For myself mind you, normally what happened is that I went to sleep and Gandalf stayed up doing _something_. Who knows what he was doing, he could be a bloody creep at times, I would wake up and I'd find him staring at me and chanting, _chanting_?

Of course I tended to leave the room and get drunk when that happened.

"Erm… booking a room," I said, cold realization dawning on me, "…we're not staying in Bree… where the bloody hell are we staying?!"

"That language is very unbecoming on a woman…"

"Traveling with a wizard is unbecoming of a woman," I snapped dismissively, "now, if we're not staying here in Bree, where are we staying?!"

Gandalf sighed, "If things go the way I would like, we will be staying in the house of Master Baggins."

"Come on!" I snapped under my breath, giving the on looking innkeeper an apologetic look as I left him to his next customer, "then why are we here?"

Gandalf glanced around quickly as he led me to one of the more empty corners of the tavern, "Several of the Dwarves are due to come here," he said, "we will lead them to Master Baggins' home."

I glared heatedly up at him but accepted it for what it was, that was really the only way you could live with Gandalf the Grey. Not that we _lived_ anywhere, we just traveled aimlessly… actually no, _I_ traveled aimlessly while he knew where exactly we were bloody going, because he didn't tell me a bloody thing.

"Okay… wait, there are going to be more Dwarves?" I asked in excitement. The thought hadn't occurred to me at all, and it was really an exciting one.

You see, I had only met one Dwarf and that was in fact Thorin Oakenshield. To look for my father and the assemblance of the family that I had left (if I even had one) I'd have to find more Dwarves, and somehow my chance had appeared in front of me, without me having to act. Which was very rare.

"Don't be a fool Stasi," Gandalf said to me and I rolled my eyes, _what a way with words, you really know how to crush someone's spirit_ , "did you think we'd go with one Dwarf prince, a Wizard and a burglar… who, might I mention is most likely inadequate when it comes to battle," he said.

I rolled my eyes.

"…Thank you Gandalf," I said sarcastically, "you really know how to ruin someone's mood, much appreciated. Also… why was _I_ not included in that? Anyway, is my father going to be here? Is someone who knows him going to be here? Will you…"

Gandalf didn't respond, instead his gaze shooting across the tavern where shouting and yelling was ensuing, "Your distraction has led to our blindness Stasi, we must show more care in the future," he said, suddenly dragging me forwards and forcing me to concentrate on not crashing into irritable looking men and women.

He blamed everything on me, honestly, _everything._

On a side note it has just occurred to me that I do the same to him. _Bloody Wizard_.

I found my curiosity peaked at the sound of harsh accents and deep voices and yells. When I finally was able to see the Dwarves, I realized how different I was from them, but I had no time to dwell on it as Gandalf was already speaking (unsurprisingly).

"If you have a problem Master Norris, I suggest you go and solve it somewhere else," he said, his voice becoming eerily loud, one of the many things he was able to do as a Wizard.

The said gentleman looked like he wanted to say something else but I chose to intervene, "Get lost," I snapped. And _that_ is how you tell someone to go away Mister Albus Dumbledore.

The man seemed more shocked that a woman at the height of 4 foot 4 inches was threatening him than the fact that Gandalf had – which really boosted my moral – and I took that to my advantage, raising an eyebrow at him and resting a hand on one of my twin blades. He eyed it sullenly before turning away and once satisfied that he was gone for good, I glanced up to Gandalf.

The Wizard nodded at me before turning to the group of slightly sulky looking Dwarves, "Gandalf the Grey," he said to introduce himself, "this here is my companion…"

"Stasi at your service," I said, curtsying clumsily, I mean, it's not like there's another way to curtsy.

The Dwarves stared at me with blatant shock, obviously not expecting to see a woman accompanying the great wizard, much less protecting him. I mean, they should've expected that because it's just so… never mind.

I just smiled awkwardly, suddenly aware of the fact that I was surrounded by a lot of Dwarves who I had never met and whom I had absolutely _no idea_ how to act around.

 _Shit, what do I do_? I asked myself as I felt a sliver of nervousness work its way into my mood.

"Bofur at yer service m'lady, a lot of thanks fer stoppin' tha' fight."

To say I was relieved when the Dwarf stepped forwards would be an understatement, but, then I became very, _very_ overwhelmed. Dwarves nodded to me, introducing themselves in rapid fire making it very hard for me to keep up, and by the time they finished, I was trying to figure out who was Nori, who was Gloin and who was Oin… also if there was any end to hairyness.

Actually, you know what, I don't want to know the answer to that, I'm just going to decide that there is.

The only Dwarves who's names I was really sure about were Bombur, Bifur and Bofur, and that was because Bofur, the dwarf who had first spoken had introduced me to them.

Bifur was a tall and slightly twitchy Dwarf with a shaggy mane of hair that reminded me a lot of a sheep dog. The top of his head was black while his beard was completely white and he had a lot of intricate braids embedded in his hair like the rest of the Dwarves. What really drew my attention however, was an axe that was embedded in the poor Dwarf's head. After staring at it for a few seconds, I realized that I was being rude and slowly and apologetically turned away.

It probably looked more awkward than apologetic but you know what, sue me.

Bombur was the largest Dwarf out of the bunch and I don't mean largest by height. Bombur was… wide, in fact, so much so that he took up the space of two of me. I'm not joking.

Bofur was a little more average than the other two, he was tall for a Dwarf with wide shoulders, large hands and a stocky figure. His clothing was old and weathered and in his right hand was a large and heavy mattock that he seemed to carry around with little struggle. He wore a lopsided hat matching his lopsided grin and had two points that stuck out oddly.

We spent no time in the tavern, Gandalf ushered us out immediately, saying that 'we've drawn too much attention to ourselves'. He was probably right, as per usual.

Although considering he wore a hat that poked a foot up into the air he wasn't the one to talk.

Remy walked beside us, dismissing the Dwarves with a sniff and they dismissed him… although I noticed the one who seemed to be the youngest looking at him with fearful eyes.

I didn't particularly blame him but honestly, his farts were scarier than his growls. And considering he was a bloody scaredy-cat, his farts were _much_ more often.

Gandalf and I found our ponies at the entrance to Bree, we had left them tied up to the post, but the Dwarves had hidden theirs in the forest for safety reasons. Probably a better idea.

Once all ponies had been gathered, we were off, and I found myself somehow scared. I was journeying to Erebor with group of Dwarves that I had never met before (Apart from Thorin) and I myself was a Dwarf. How was I expected to act, I mean, I didn't even have a Dwarven name. _What have I gotten myself into?_ I asked myself desperately, a whine came from beside my pony and I knew Remy could sense my upset.

Letting out a sharp breath through my nose, I desperately tried to push my worries away but it was useless.

"So, lass, what made ye come on a quest with a bunch 'o Dwarrows like ourselves?" the question awoke me from my worrying and I glanced to the side. Bofur sat on his pony, Bombur behind him, his beefy arms around his waist, "I'd say we're undeservin' of such a pretty face like yours."

The Dwarf winked, and I smiled at him despite my worries, "…I'm looking for my father," I admitted, "I'm meant to be a seer… it's a long story. Anyway I'm looking for my father and Gandalf seems to be the one person who knows who he is."

"An' do ye' know yer clan?" he asked, "that would help."

I shook my head, "no, I have absolutely _no_ idea what my clan is," I admitted, "Gandalf does, so I'm following him… like a bloody idiot."

"Aye, he's a wizard so he'll make ye' feel that way," he said.

"And what about you Master Bofur?" I asked, "why'd you venture on this quest."

"They said the beer'd be free," he said.

He was staring straight ahead as he said that and I found myself staring at him, entirely unsure how to react. Finally he realized I was staring at him and he winked at me.

"Erm… you came on a quest to slay a dragon because they said the beer was free?" I asked, _what? And I thought Gandalf was mad._

"Dragon? What Dragon… no one told me there was gonna be a dragon," he said, a look of mock confusion on his face.

I laughed, shaking my head as he looked around with a look of fright. The Dwarf beside him, I have honestly _no_ idea _what_ his name was, looked at him weirdly, "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Unlike the rest, his accent was sharp and posh and his voice was, in general, rather accusing. Bofur gave him a glance, "Hiya Nori, didn't see yeu there, an…"

Nori, that was his name. He was of average height with his hair jutting out at three different corners. His eyebrows were braided up to his hair, and he held an old looking axe. His eyes were a hazel and they glimmered with mischief, in fact, I could already tell, this one was a trouble maker.

"I see you're already trying to woo the lady," he said nodding at me, "ignore Bofur, he's looking for a woman."

I raised an eyebrow at his abrupt way of talking but Bofur just looked disappointed, "Darnit," he said before leaning towards me, "just as yeu were startin' to fall under me spell."

I couldn't help but burst into laughter at that and Nori rolled his eyes as Bofur looked pleased with him.

"Sorry M'lady, I didn't actually catch your name," he said, interrupting my laugh.

"Stasi," I said, a smile still on my face, "at your service."

"And what do you do M'lady Stasi?"

"None of that, it's just Stasi," I said, "and I really just follow Gandalf around…"

"…she's lookin' for her Da'…"

"…yes, I'm looking for my father," I said, "Gandalf happens to be the only bloomin' person who knows who he is."

Nori frowned, "That's unfortunate… I wouldn't trust the wizard if I were you. Speaks in riddles he does."

"Well it's not as if I have much of a choice," I pointed out, "I don't really have a family, and a woman alone…"

"Dwarrowdam?" Bofur practically asked me.

"Say what?"

"You're a Dwarf aren't you?" Nori asked, and when I nodded, he frowned, "female Dwarves are called Dwarrowdams."

I frowned, "Sorry, I wasn't raised around Dwarves."

"An' what a sad life tha' must've been," Bofur deadpanned, a puppy like sad expression on his face, "but then again, 'ah wasn't raised with yer beautiful face in ma' life."

I raised an eyebrow, a small smile on my face as he winked at me and Nori visibly rolled his eyes, "…Braid each other's hair already," he said with a snort.

Bofur raised an eyebrow at Nori while I was a little confused, "ye sound jealous lad."

Nori shot Bofur a look and I snorted with laughter, "I am _not_ jealous in any way thank you very much Master Bofur," he said with in a sniffy tone of voice, "anyway, I don't flirt with strangers."

Bofur shot me a grin and I shook my head, a small smile on my face, "Why'd you come on this journey Master Nori?"

"The gold."

His answer was abrupt (as usual it seemed) and I glanced at him, "So… you had no other ulterior motive?"

"That _is_ my ulterior motive," he said, "my brothers think I've come to reassemble our _sibling bonds_ , but… you know, well, _gold_."

I couldn't help the instant dislike I felt towards Nori and tensed slightly. So far he had shown an abrupt way of speaking that was downright inconsiderate, "and why do your sibling bonds need to be reassembled?"

Nori shrugged, "Dori doesn't like my work…"

"Ye can hardly call that work Nori," Bofur interrupted, "come on lad, the L…"

"Okay, fine, Dori doesn't like my _way of life_ ," he said, interrupting the dark haired Dwarf.

Bofur seemed to settle with that but I was confused, "What does that mean?"

Nori was about to answer, but Bofur interrupted him, "The lad steals for a livin'," he said abruptly, "so watch all yer goods and things ye hold dear."

Nori frowned. "No, t'isn't stealin' if they don't know."

"That's a pretty twisted sense of logic," I pointed out dryly. So far any chance of me liking Nori was diminishing by the second.

"Aye, that's assumin' he has a sense of logic… no need to wonder why his relationship with Dori went 'capoot'," Bofur said.

Both Dwarves had a slightly blunt way of talking and even though I knew that both meant no harm in it, I didn't quite like Nori's lack-of-a-filter.

Nori shrugged, "Dori has no creativity."

Bofur seemed to leave the conversation at that and because I was personally not interested in learning anything else about Nori, I glanced to Bofur, "and what do you do Master Bofur?" I asked.

"Jus' Bofur's fine," he said, "an' me and Bifur do toymakin' and minin'," he said.

Funnily enough, I was not surprised, "I bet you're a good toymaker," I said.

"Why'd ye say that lass?"

"You smile a lot, you're friendly and I bet you could make a rock laugh," I said, "I think those are good traits for a toymaker."

Nori snorted almost as if he disagreed with the point but Bofur only cast me a wink, his way of saying thank you. We continued the journey in silence, all the while me naming each Dwarf in my head, an attempt at getting the names correct. It was unlikely that I had gotten any of them correct but I could only try.

We reached the house of Bilbo Baggins when the sun was low below the horizon and walked through the beautiful and peaceful Shire to get to our destination. For the second time that day, I found myself standing in front of the house of Bilbo Baggins, but this time, Gandalf was knocking.

The Dwarves had pushed forwards, shoving themselves against the rounded door in a fight to get in first and the moment poor Bilbo Baggins opened the door they collapsed in. _And there goes any little bite of peace the poor hobbit had._

His hamster like face was filled with shock for a moment until he caught sight of Gandalf and I, " _Gandalf_ ," he said, his voice filled with blame as the Dwarves scurried past him.

I chose to do the same, abandoning Gandalf to speak to the affronted Hobbit and making my way into the curved ceilinged house. I was instantly greeted by two unknown Dwarves who seemed to take delight in smiling at me and standing in my space bubble, "Kili…"

"…and Fili…"

"…at your service," they chorused bowing.

"To what do we owe the immense pleasure of the company of so fair a lady," the blonde asked, winking at me. He had a deep voice and as he walked beside me I was aware of the odd swaggering he seemed to have. _Look at this one, he thinks he's Bruno Mars._

"What does that even mean?" I asked, not quite understanding the question, "are you asking why am I here? Because you don't 'owe' anything… although if you want to give me money, by all means, hand the jingle over."

The darker haired one grinned and the blonde one burst into laughter, "she's a smart one," Kili said, "are you the Hobbit's wife?"

"Are you an elf?" I shot back.

"Not the Hobbits wife," Fili established before regarded me with his lips pursed and brow furrowed in thought, he had somehow gotten the idea to braid the ends of his moustache, I desperately wanted to pull one, "…are _you_ an elf actually?"

They both had identical disgusted expressions on their faces and I rolled my eyes, "I'm a Dwarf ," I said in annoyance, "well… it's complicated."

While the black haired one seemed to dismiss this and plowed straight into talking the blonde had a suspicious look on his face, "where do you hail from… wait, do you come from the Blue Mountains… no I would've remembered you… where do you…"

Okay, I'd like to stop right now and apologize because my darling Kili didn't say all of these things in one breath (although knowing him he could). While Kili was talking to me/himself we had been dodging Bombur, Bifur, Gloin, Fili… I don't actually know how I ended up dodging the blonde haired Dwarf when he was at my side but _anyway_.

Poor Kili got interrupted yet _again_ when he, Fili and I rounded the corner and I went flying in the other direction.

Okay, so I didn't go _flying_ per say, but I fell to the floor and Fili stumbled. Why, I had crashed into someone.

I stand at the height of 4 foot 4 inches which is small even for a Dwarf, and the Dwarf I smacked into was around 4 foot 6, bam-smack average (p.s. this just means average but the bam-smack gives it more _oomph_ ) with a slightly large belly, snow white hair and the sweetest brown eyes I had seen on a person. And I mean chocolate-sweet.

I didn't understand the look of shock on his face at the time, I just thought he was surprised to see a woman but _wowzers_ was I wrong.

I glanced to the Dwarf beside him and allowed my eyes to widen fractionally, then marginally… then so wide that they practically fell out of their sockets.

I want you to imagine The Rock in Dwarf form. There he was, Dwayne the Rock Johnson except hairier (but still bald though, what would Dwayne the Rock Johnson be without his baldness), angrier and… with a hand stuck in a cookie jar.

Yep, exactly like Dwayne the Rock Johnson.

Said Dwarf was practically five foot, and tuna can packed with muscle. He had tattoos literally everywhere and his right eyebrow was heavily scarred. He had ice blue eyes and a passive aggressiveness to his stare that made me want to run in the other direction yet seemed very familiar. I was certain he had been in my nightmares.

It was then that I realized that Kili and Fili were laughing and that I was made aware that I had fallen after crashing into a Dwarf that was barely larger than me, whilst Fili had knocked into someone that was two times his width and eight times his height. And Mr. I-swagger-and-all-the-ladies-swoon hadn't budged.

I sent them a glare as the white haired Dwarf helped me up and dusted my skirt off, "Stasi at your service," I said haughtily while Kili and Fili chortled with laughter.

"Balin at your service and this here is Dwalin," the chocolate eyed one said, elbowing the Dwarf beside him.

He let out a grunt that sounded more like the growl of a Tyrannasourous Rex before glancing down at me, a slightly confused expression on his face, "Dwalin at yer' service lassie, 'ah don't reckon' yer from tha' Blue Mountains," he said, "where will I be knowin' ye from?"

"I haven't met any Dwarves before this," I admitted, "I don't think I've ever met you."

He 'harumphed' and Balin glanced up at him before looking at me, "…well where do you hail from?" he asked, he had a nasally wizened voice… kind of like Gandalf's except nicer.

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by the said Wizard from behind me, "Stasi has a complicated history and her home is even more so. I suggest we wait until Thorin comes to finish such conversation."

Balin nodded, "fair enough, Thorin'll want to hear the full story," he laid a hand on my shoulder, practically dragging me away from Fili and Kili. I could tell they were glaring after us. _Sorry boys, you'll get the lady another day._

Balin proceeded in dragging me around and introducing me to Dwarves that I had already met before but I didn't mind. I wouldn't be able to keep track of their names for another year anyway.

Poor Bilbo Baggins. All he could do was run after the Dwarves as they made a mess of his pantry, Bombur cooking up a storm with either Ori or Dori next to him… I honestly can't remember which one. Thorin wasn't there which was strange but I was a bit too distracted to think about it.

I had been assigned with stacking plates with mounds of food. Bombur was fast. One second it would be fish, the next chicken and the next pork. There was so much meat I thought I was going to die of happiness.

It was two hours before we started eating, around 10 o'clock and the table was filled to the brim with food.

Dwarves were messy.

Bilbo Baggins sat in the corner while I was shoved between Balin and Dwalin (the latter of these ignoring me) and I glanced to him sympathetically as a wad of mashed potatoes landed in Dwalin's mug of ale and the poor hobbit blanched. _Poor sod_.

Dwalin let out a bellow, Balin looked grumpy, Fili climbed up onto the table and Bofur tossed a boiled egg at Bombur. Food flew in the air and I was wondering whether to cry, laugh or do both. I chose to eat.

I had no idea when I would have food that nice again, actually, since coming to Middle Earth I had never had food like that. I think I fainted for five seconds when I tried the chicken.

"Oi, who wants some ale?" Fili yelled at the top of his lungs.

Kili tossed a mug in front of Dwalin and I and I watched with avid interest as Dwalin snatched his ale, grabbed the Dwarf from beside him (Oin? Gloin? I don't know) and poured it down his ear horn (he was deaf), "'ave a drink," he yelled menacingly.

The poor Dwarf went cross eyed for a moment and I could hear Fili and Kili bursting with laughter, "Is he okay?" I asked, wincing a little.

"Aye, he'll be alright, it's just gone to his head," Nori said smartly, a smug grin on his face as I joined the other Dwarves in laughter.

Mr. Baggins looked like he was going to get sick. _Poor sod._

Biting into a forkful of mashed potatoes I managed to dodge an impending bread bun just in time. Glancing up I found myself glancing between Fili and Nori (Fili had sat back down), both either distracted by their food or by other Dwarves. I narrowed my eyes, grabbing a whole potato and aiming it at Fili.

There was a long silence as the potato hit Fili's shoulder and the Dwarf looked at me from across the table his mouth wide open in shock. I thought he was angry as I looked at Nori's smirk, but seconds later, all hell broke loose.

 _Shit._

I think my childhood was killed in those few moments of horror. I faced my death in the form of green beans, garlic sauce and slivers of steak. It was traumatizing but Bofur and Nori both came to my rescue as Kili came to Fili's.

Our food fight was cut off when Balin started yelling at the Princes (who didn't look ashamed in the slightest) for throwing at a woman, and then Nori fell onto his brother (again, either Ori or Dori) and he started yelling at him. I instead realized I was being stared at, and glancing to the side, I found Dwalin looking at me with a genuinely curious expression.

I smiled at him… and he smirked back.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

We finished eating slowly, when everyone was satisfied (which took at least an hour of eating – talking not included) Dwarves got up one by one and started cleaning up. I went over to Gandalf, intent on asking him about where Thorin Oakenshield was but I found myself listening in onto the gripes of Bilbo Baggins, "…I'm surrounded by dwarves! What are they doing here?" he asked.

I watched with widening eyes as Nori tried nicking the chain of sausages Bofur was holding, not sure to be amused or aghast, "They're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them," Gandalf attempted.

"I don't want to get used to them!" Bilbo snapped. He was having a very sophisticated temper tantrum. _Poor sod._

"There's mud trod into the carpet, they've pillaged the pantry! I'm not even going to _tell_ you what they've done in the bathroom," he snapped and I wrinkled my nose in agreement. I had been in desperate need of peeing but had chosen to go in a bush outside because of the state of the bathroom, "they've all but _destroyed_ the plumbing! I don't understand what they're doing in my house!"

I opened my mouth to explain but was cut off by the youngest looking Dwarf coming up to Bilbo and tapping him on the shoulder. Now, I say _youngest_ because he _looked_ the youngest. It had become quite obvious to me that Fili and Kili were the youngest they were so, _so_ immature. Not that I was any better or older than them.

"Sorry, _I hate_ to interrupt, but where would you like me to put my plate," he asked, his words oddly enunciated. It seemed as if all of Nori's family had taken a stint in England, they were the only Dwarves with posh English accents (apart from Thorin but he wasn't actually there).

A lot of the others had a thick brogue of some sort and then there were those who had a New Zealand accent like Fili and Bombur. I was pretty certain Kili had some sort of Irish accent, he had already asked me 'what's the craic?'.

Fili seemed to appear from nowhere, grabbing the plate, "Here you go, ori, give it to me," he grunted before tossing the plate.

Somehow Kili managed to catch it… almost as if he'd been expecting it and soon, dishes were being tossed everywhere.

I'd like to pause my narration and bless Bilbo Baggins the Poor Sod who ran around desperately yelling nonsense about pottery and clam shells. Okay… not clam shells. Anyway, he put up a good fight and I felt honestly sympathetic.

I know I didn't _look_ honestly sympathetic because I was laughing and banging spoons with Bofur but I was. Afterwards. _Very_ afterwards. I am lying.

Anyway, I was dragged over to the table by Bofur and soon I found myself scratching utensils and stomping on the floor. I took me a full thirty seconds to realize we were making a beat.

"Could you please not do that?" Bilbo asked, I swear I didn't laugh, "You'll blunt them!"

Bofur grinned widely, "D'you hear tha', lads? He says we'll blunt the knives."

Seconds later Fili was singing, "Blunt the knives, bend the forks!"

"Smash the bottles and burn the corks!" Kili called back.

' _Chip the glasses and crack the plates_

 _That's what Bilbo Baggins hates_

 _Cut the cloth, tread on the fat_

 _Leave the bones on the bedroom mat_

 _Pour the milk on the pantry floor_

 _Splash the wine on every door_

 _Dump the crooks in a boiling bowl_

 _Pound them up with a thumping pole_

 _When you're finished, if they are whole_

 _Send them down the hall to roll_

 _That's what Bilbo Baggins hates"_

At the end of the song, I was once again, _dragged by Bofur,_ (you'll find that he's always dragging me) to the kitchen where we stood around a set of completely clean dishes.

I was honestly shocked when Mr. Baggins didn't faint.

The knock on the door didn't register to me until Gandalf spoke, "he is here."

 _Santa Claus?_

I saw Gandalf glance at me, his mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but then a mischievous glimmer entered his eye and he shut his mouth. That was always, always, _always_ a bad sign.

Obviously, it wasn't Santa Claus, but it was Thorin Oakenshield, "Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find," he said, his voice as deep and depthful as the ocean, "I lost my way, twice. I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door."

"Mark? There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago," Bilbo cut in.

I winced and Gandalf spoke, "There is a mark; I put it there myself," he said dismissively, "Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

The moment Thorin took a step towards Bilbo I saw the judgment and amused disgust in his eyes. "So," he said thickly, "this is the hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

My dearest Bilbo, looked as if Thorin had asked him to do the Haka in front of him at that very moment, "Pardon me?"

Thorin was almost circling him now, aiming to stand in front of the Dwarves in front of him, "Axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?"

"Well, I do have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant."

"Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar," Thorin said.

I couldn't help the amused smile, "come off of it Thorin, leave the Hobbit alone," I said.

Thorin looked to me in slight surprise, dismissing my comment, "and you, Miss Stasi," he said before glancing to Gandalf, "you expect me to allow this woman on my quest? She is a Dwarf, a _Dwarrow-dam_ , our Dwarrow-dams are precious more than gold."

 _I think I'm blushing_ , I thought sarcastically.

"I understand that but Stasi is Fae as well as Dwarven. She is a seer and she may be able to shed light upon the future of the quest," Gandalf said, "it is the Valar that have presented her to me as my student until she finishes her task and can return…"

He trailed off when I gave him a sharp look and Thorin glanced at me curiously but ignored it, seeming to sense the emotional basis for my frustration, "am I to understand that the Valar have sent you?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"Do you weild a weapon?" he asked, "I have no need for any sort of useless woman…"

"Twin swords Oakenshield," I interrupted curtly, ""I'd be happy to spar with you if you need proof of my talent with them."

There was a long still silence, Thorin's gaze locked on my own. A silent battle before he smirked, "perhaps there will be a time my lady Dwarf," he said.

I glanced to see Bilbo looking at me. I knew exactly what he was thinking about me, he was saying to himself; _Poor sod._

I wasn't scared… granted I'd be scared when he asked to spar, but for now I wasn't. I was just living in the moment, "great, now that that's established, do you want stew?"

Thorin gave me slightly surprised look before nodding, "aye, I'm hungry. I have not stopped for a rest in all of my travels."

"You're welcome," I said with a flash of a smile before leaving. I could feel his eyes burning into my back.


	4. Chapter 4

**RE: I own nothing but the small sub plot and my OCs, the rest are works of Tolkien and the 'The Hobbit' films.**

 **Chapter 4: Seer**

I walked into the dining room, a bowl of soup balanced on a plate with a bun nearby it. Setting it in front of Thorin I sat beside Bofur and smiled warmly at the hated Dwarf, he smiled back and winked. Nori rolled his eyes from the other side of Bofur. _What a sweetheart._

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?"Balin asked the moment my arse touched the seat.

"Aye," Thorin said before taking a dramatic pause, "Envoys from all seven kingdoms."

There were murmurs of excitement along with a yawn from me. Gandalf from the other side of Thorin gave me a sharp look, "What did the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?"

I could see the hesitation and disappointment on Thorin's face as he turned to answer Dwalin, "They will not come."

His voice was so deep it was almost a whisper, drawing people in to hear what he had to say. The Dwarves murmured in disappointment and disapproval, but I stayed quiet, not quite understanding the cause of their disappointment, "They say this quest is ours and ours alone."

The murmurings that were set to continue were cut off by Bilbo who stood innocently in the doorway of the dining room, "You're going on a quest?" he asked.

Gandalf looked sheepish at the look I sent him but made no comment, tapping the Hobbit on the shoulder, "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light."

I helped Gandalf spread an aged but beautiful map on the table and Bilbo returned with a candle as I placed a miscellaneous mug on the corner nearest to me, "Far to the east, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak," Gandalf whispered, his finger tracing the aged paper until it reached a desolate and sharpened mountain.

"The… Lonely Mountain?" Bilbo read aloud to himself, question in his voice.

I reached forwards, tracing my finger on the red dragon drawn over the mountain, the Hobbits eyes on me. Glancing up, I gave him a mysterious smile before glancing to Oin who had began to speak, "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: when the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end," he said stoically.

Bilbo looked a little taken aback, "Beast? What beast?"

"Well, tha' would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks. Extremely fond of precious metals," Bofur piped up.

I gave him an amused smile before glancing back to Bilbo, "…a Dragon," I established.

Bilbo sent me a look, "Yes, I know what a dragon is."

"I'm not afraid! I'm up for it!" Ori yelled, standing suddenly, "I'll give him a taste of dwarvish iron right up his jacksy."

I cheered along with the rest of the Dwarves apart from Nori and Dori, the latter of which yelled to his brother to sit down.

"The task to win back the mountain would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just seven, and not seven of the best or the brightest," Balin said.

" _Oi_ , who're you callin' dim?!" Kili asked sounding offended.

It was at that moment that Oin frowned and raised his hearing trumpet, "sorry, what'd he say?"

I raised an eyebrow and almost immediately there was an uproar, "We may be few in numbers, but we're fighters," Fili yelled over the squabbling company, pounding his fist into the table, "All of us, to the last dwarf."

"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf must have killed hundreds of dragons in his time," Kili added.

At that, I burst into laughter and Gandalf sent me a look, "…well, no, I wouldn't say that I –"

"How many then?" Nori asked abruptly.

"What?" Gandalf asked innocently, now completely ignoring my giggles.

"How many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!" Kili said.

When Gandalf started to choke on his pipeweed I was gone, laughing so hard that I had to lean on the table and Bofur. My stomach hurt so much I was certain it was going to fly out…

" _Quiet!"_ Thorin interrupted, cutting off my laughter, "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back as others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?"

There were grunts and nods from all around us while I desperately tried to quell my giggles with my palm whilst Bofur's hand lay sympathetically on my shoulder.

"You forget, the front gate is sealed!" Balin said, "There is no way into the mountain."

I had finally stopped laughing and focused my attention on the scene unveiling itself before me, "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf responded easily, holding up key intricately decorated with runes and spirals.

The look on Thorins face was a mixture of wonder and shock as he reached gingerly for it, "how came you by this?"

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safe keeping," Gandalf said, "It is yours now."

As Thorin took the key, I saw the King in Thorin. He was no longer a lost Prince of Erebor and I couldn't help but wonder how I had ever seen him as such. He had been and would always be a King.

"If there is a key, there must be a door," Kili said, pounding a fist on the table in passion.

"Well done Kili, I congratulate you for your perceptiveness," I said.

Kili gave me a look while Fili and I snorted with laughter. We were shut up after Thorin gave us a black look and Kili held an annoying yet smug expression upon his face.

"These ruins speak of another passage into the lower halls," Gandalf said, running his fingers along another section of the map.

"There's another way in."

"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it," Gandalf admitted, "But, there are others in Middle Earth who can.'

'The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done," he continued. I didn't miss that he skipped over the fact of _who_ was going to read it for us.

"That's why we need a burglar," Ori concluded loudly.

"A good one too. An expert, I'd imagine," Bilbo said.

 _This should be good._

"And are you?" someone asked.

Bilbo froze, turning back to us confusion and a slight tone of fear shifting through his face, "Am I what?"

Oin burst out of his seat as if he was a full 50 years younger, "He said he's an expert!" he bellowed waving his trumpet about like a banner.

I wrinkled my nose in blatant confusion as cheers went up from the Dwarves around the table, _What?_

Bilbo looked terrified, "Me? No, no, no, I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material," Balin said, shaking his head as if it was the saddest thing in the world.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves," Dwalin added.

I would've loved to argue on behalf of Bilbo, but I honestly would've been fighting a losing battle. I liked the Hobbit, he seemed like a nice fellow… but to put it bluntly he seemed a bit unprepared to undertake such a journey, and anyways, I was positive he had no idea how to hold a sword.

It was Gandalf who stood up for the hobbit, standing to his full height – which scraped the ceiling – and casting a dark shadow over the room, "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar a burglar he is!" he shouted, his presence growing with some sort of dark and terrifying magic, "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet! In fact, they can go unseen by most if they choose... and while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him which gives us a distinct advantage."

As he turned to Thorin, his presence became what it always had been and the darkness seem to fade away like sun pierced fog, "You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself. You must trust me on this."

Thorin seemed to ponder what Gandalf had said whilst the rest of the company looked on to Gandalf with faces that read 'what the hell just happened?'

"Very well," Thorin finally said, blue eyes flashing, "we'll do it your way. Balin, give him the contract."

I raised an eyebrow at Gandalf who winked at me and I smiled, shaking my head in amusement. Amusement that was cut short.

"And what of the woman, do you expect me to give her a contract as well?" Thorin asked.

" _The Woman_?" I asked feeling slightly offended.

Gandalf eyed me for a second, oblivious to the offense I had taken, "not yet Master Oakenshield, ask me tomorrow morning and I may know."

Thorin looked confused as he glanced between me and Gandalf, but I, being just as confused as him, shrugged at him before sending him a look. _The woman, honestly, who does he think he is?_

"…company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to - lacerations? Evisceration? Incineration?" Bilbo's voice was coming out rather squeakily at this point and as I glanced to him, shaking my offense away, I raised an eyebrow.

 _He looks like the devil just knocked on his door and told him he wanted to take him out for dinner._

"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," Bofur said.

 _Perhaps he did._

I opened my mouth, then shut it again, unsure if I should stop Bofur as Bilbo swayed a bit, "You alright, laddie?" Balin asked.

"Yes, but I feel a bit faint," Bilbo admitted.

Bofur wasn't finished, "Think furnace with wings. Flash of light, searin' pain, an' then - POOF! Yeu're nothin' more than a pile of ash!"

I watched as he seemed to waver, his eyes clouding before he stood straight, made eye contact with me and said, "Nope," and then fell flat on his back.

I winced glancing to a not at all ashamed Bofur. The rest of the company was staring at the Hobbit with unashamed looks of confusion, disappointment, shock and disgust, "Very helpful, Bofur," Gandalf snapped in a harsh tone, moving to pull up the Hobbit.

Glancing back to the hated Dwarf I raised an amused eyebrow as he winked at me. Thorin got up from his seat and left the room rather abruptly and from then on, the meeting was basically dismissed. So, I followed the retreating Dwarves into the sitting room where we sat on the couches, a lot of them taking the chance for a comfortable smoke.

I found myself in between Fili and Dwalin with Kili laughing at the fact that I was Dwarfed compared to both of them. Ori was drawing us peacefully and Bofur was smoking languidly while staring at us with an amused smile.

I could see Nori shifting through a chest that I was pretty sure was filled with expensive stuff, and Dwalin was glaring at everything. Let me be honest, I wasn't sure if he could form any other expression.

 _And then Thorin came in, and they started singing._

' _Far over the Misty Mountain cold,_

 _to dungeons deep and caverns old,_

 _we must away ere break of day to find our long forgotten gold._

 _The pines were roaring on the height,_

 _the winds were moaning in the night,_

 _the fire was red, its flaming spread,_

 _the trees like torches blazed with light.'_

The Dwarves never finished singing after one song ended another song began, and then another, and then another. And soon I had finally fallen into a deep slumber, dreaming of places forgotten and places I would see soon.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

 _The river was fast. Too fast._

 _The water rushed by me, colored orange by the silt and minerals. Drawn by conversation I glanced to the left, met with a pair of hazel colored eyes. A pair of braided eyebrows were narrowed and Nori spoke in a hushed tone, "listen, we have to cross and when we do, I vote we push the lads into the river."_

" _You're joking?"_

" _No."_

" _No."_

" _Why not?" he whined._

 _I rolled my eyes, "because the current's fast and I don't see any of us swimming out of there easily. Especially Fili. Fili's muscles are devoted to his swagger and nothing else."_

" _Lass… I don't think that makes sense," Bofur said from behind me._

 _I glanced back to him and gave him a grin, "just pretend it does."_

" _We have to cross!" Thorin's yell that demanded attention interrupted anything Bofur was going to respond with._

 _One second I was glancing to the river with a wrinkled nose, and the next second I was in it. I was being swept away from the company, a hand in Kili's as we careened into a rock and I slammed my head into it. The last thing I remembered was the metallic taste of river… or was that blood in my mouth?_

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

I woke with a gasp, a loud one. Loud enough to rouse Dwalin sleeping beside me and cause Kili to groan. The large Dwarf glanced to me skeptically, a grumpy look on his permanently grumpy face, but I was too panicked to notice it really. Getting to my feet I rushed out of the sitting room, grabbing my coat from the coat rack and opening the front door.

I found myself sitting at the same bench we had seen Bilbo sitting at only hours earlier. I placed my head in my hands, air rushing out of me in a cooling and not at all comforting sigh. Had that been a dream? It felt to real to be a dream, I could practically taste the blood in my mouth. _Janie-mackie_.

I could still feel the coolness of the water, hear the desperate shouts of the other Dwarves and feel Kili's slippery hand in my own. _Janie-mackie_.

Groaning I glanced up at the stars, desperately wishing I could speak to someone. I wasn't even sure why that dream felt so scary, I had had worse dreams than that. I mean, I had had dreams about _Gandalf_ for Christ sake.

I jumped about thirty feet in the air when a cold wet _something_ touched my hand.

Look, sue me, wouldn't you freak out if something cold and wet touched your hand… unless that happens normally in the work place for you. Granted this wasn't technically my workplace but…

I was so relieved to see Remy I almost cried. Until he farted… then I did actually cry.

 _Shithead._

"You dreamt."

Once again, I jumped about thirty feet into the air. But this time I wasn't comforted at the sight of Gandalf. He sat next to me, taking up most of the space on the hobbit sized bench.

I was pretty scared it was gonna collapse, I'm not going to lie.

I gave him a weird look, "yes, Gandalf, I had a dream. It was terrifying too, _thanks for asking_."

He nodded, looking at me seriously, "we must think this through Stasi, you are meant for something more than following me…"

"Trust me, _I know_."

"…are you ready to achieve whatever challenge awaits you?"

"wait… what?" I asked, suddenly confused, "challenge, what are you talking about? I had a bad dream Gandalf."

"This dream felt real?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me of it," he commanded.

I raised an eyebrow, "I dreamt that I was first riding and joking around with Bofur and Nori and then I dreamt that I was… drowning with Kili. And not in alcohol."

He didn't look amused, "I believe you have had your first dream as a seer."

"Wait… how do you know?" I asked, "it could've just been a dream?"

Gandalf was now ignoring me, "so be it," he told himself, "I will tell Thorin of the circumstances tomorrow morning and she will sign the form. Let the days ahead of us look a little brighter with a seer on our side."

"Janie… look, Gandalf, you're talking to yourself. I don't even know if I was seeing…"

"Well don't be foolish girl, of course you were seeing," Gandalf said, "tell me, what color of water did you drown in?"

I gave him a weird look, "umm… red, orangish I guess, why's that important?"

"Because only one river flows red my child," he said giving me a sharp look, "that is why you were seeing… also because you were chanting in your sleep."

"I… _what?!_ " I asked, chanting my _ass_. I already traveled with Gandalf, I didn't want to become _like_ him, and anyway, I wasn't _that_ senile… not that I knew of, "I was _not_ chanting!" I snapped.

Gandalf murmured something under his breath and I rolled my eyes, cupping Remy's face in my hands and smoothing down his wrinkles, "I would get some sleep Stasi. Tomorrow will be an early start," Gandalf said to me, standing to his full height before making his way back into the house to do _lord_ knows _what_.

I leaned down, kissing Remy on his nose before making my way inside, smiling at his whine. Love dogs.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

Gandalf was right, we woke up at 5:00am, had a meager breakfast, completely tidied up Bilbo's house and set off. That's a lie, we didn't tidy up anything.

Travelling with Gandalf had always been rather boring, there were times when the Wizard wouldn't talk for days and I had been left with nothing but Remy as a companion. I'll tell you, farts or no farts, he was a good companion.

The dog had been with me through thick and thin, more than Gandalf had, and that's saying a lot. But I had always sort of wanted human companionship, I mean, who wouldn't, so travelling with the Dwarves of Erebor was wonderful. Nothing was boring with them, _nothing_.

"Hey Fili," Nori called, "betcha the hobbit won't come."

Fili glanced back, mischief in his eyes, "and what do you think Seer?" he asked, his blue eyes catching my own.

"My name is _Stasi_ , Prince Fili and _that's_ what I think," I said smartly, raising an eyebrow at him.

He scoffed, "are you not going to bet?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "who's to say I've seen anything about this quest?" I asked.

"Gandalf?" Fili asked, an amused smile on his face as he moved his attention to the wizard.

"I have faith in Master Baggins," Gandalf said glancing to me, "and… I have faith in Stasi."

 _What's that supposed to mean?_ I asked myself skeptically, eyeing the wizard, "…whatever," I said rolling my eyes, "tell me Gandalf, is there ever going to be a day when you _don't_ speak in riddles?"

"If I didn't speak in riddles Stasi, what would be the point of a Wizard?" Gandalf asked me, raising his eyebrows at me.

"I don't know," I grumbled irritably, "friendship? Information? Everything a Wizard is supposed to be?"

"My age makes friendship almost a burden," Gandalf admitted gruffly, "and Information comes with a cost, riddles, do not."

"That's exceedingly negative," Nori commented as I raised a slightly confused eyebrow.

"That's rich coming from you," Kili mumbled.

I had no response, glancing to Fili and shrugging, "I don't know if Mr. Baggins will be on this trip Fili, but, if I were to bet…"

"Ye're not allowed to bet, ye're a seer!" Gloin interrupted, "whether or not ye _say_ ye've seen into the future means nothin' to me, I'd like to have a fair bet. And a fair bet doesn't include a seer."

I was slightly offended and gave the red headed Dwarf an irritated look, pushing back a snappy annoyed reply and settling for a moderately sulky posture. I watched through narrow and irritated eyes as the Dwarves wagered against Master Baggins coming or not; most against Fili, Bofur, Gandalf and Bifur.

So either those four would _lose_ a lot of money or gain a lot of money.

It was no more than an hour after we had left that we heard the yell of Bilbo Baggins, "Wait!"

One by one we stopped and I glanced back to the Hobbit who was sprinting towards us, signed form in hand, "I signed it!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

I let out a long breath of air through my mouth, a strand of hair swinging away from my face as I did so. The hobbit handed his form over to Balin and the white haired Dwarf read over it, "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield,"

There was a small amount of scattered claps that mainly came from the Dwarves who had won money and I snorted and glanced away, "Give him a pony," Thorin said, he had a blatant unimpressed look on his face.

"No, no, that won't be necessary, I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know," Bilbo said, "I even got as far as Frogmorton once."

The Hobbit squealed like a pig as he was hoisted onto a pony and I snorted with amusement, "pay up lad," Bofur called to Kili while Bifur caught a coin pack from Gloin.

The red headed Dwarf shot me a glare as if I was the cause of his loss of money and I rolled my eyes, I couldn't even understand Bifur.

I was unsurprised that Bilbo stuck close to Gandalf and I made sure to stick close to Kili, Fili or one of the Ur brothers. Although I sorta kinda avoided Bifur because he couldn't speak to me.

We rode on in silence apart from the heated argument that Kili and Fili were having… then Bilbo sneezed, "Oh, all this horse hair. I'm – _achoo_ \- having a reaction."

I wrinkled my nose in amusement but didn't bother glancing back at him. "Wait! Wait! Stop! We have to turn around," he enunciated loudly and the entire company came to a halt.

 _This should be good_.

"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked.

"I forgot my handkerchief!" he said as if it was the gravest matter in all of Middle Earth. I almost died, "terribly sorry, we have to… we need to turn around!"

Most of the Dwarves looked at him as if he had just volunteered to train with an Orc. There was a loud ripping sound and I grinned as Bofur tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and tossed it to Bilbo, "here, use this."

The Hobbit eyed the grimy material and I joined in on the chorus of laughter coming from the rest of the company, "Move on!" Thorin called, boredom in his voice. If he wasn't unimpressed before, he was now.

"You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end," Gandalf chastised, "You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead."

" _Joy_ ," I said sarcastically, "Wargs, Orcs, snakes, bears, really really scary things, how exciting."

"Don't worry Stasi, I'll protect you," Fili said earnestly.

I gave him a look, "with what? Your graceless swagger?"

There was a chorus of laughter and Fili grinned and shook his head, "you always surprise us with your wit My Lady."

"Fili, how would you like if I went around calling you My Lady?" I asked ignoring what could've been both an insult and a compliment.

Now all of the Dwarves stared at me, confusion on their faces, "well what do you _expect_ us to call you?" Nori asked.

"Nori, my dear Nori. I am a woman, I am a Dwarrow-dam, I am a female and I am a Lassie. But I am _not_ a Lady," I said, "Lady's wear _dresses_ and _jewllery…"_

"Lass, yeu _are_ wearin' jewellery," Bofur said rolling his eyes.

I opened my mouth before closing it, "…okay, fair point. But my point is that I'm going to be travelling with you for who knows how long, so you might as well just call me Stasi. Or Lassie. Or Lass. I don't know, just not _My Lady_."

Gandalf's back was to me but I knew he was rolling his eyes, "Gandalf, you're rolling your eyes."

Gandalf glanced back at me, "and _you_ are making a fool of yourself Stasi, I do wish you'd get used to the ways of this world and stop being an embarrassment."

There were snickers among the Dwarves as Gandalf turned away and I bit my bottom lip feeling more than a little bit offended. Glancing down at Remy I frowned and the dog gave me a look that clearly said, _'_ _what… is it the fart? It wasn't me this time.'_

Facing forwards I continued on in silence until Gloin prompted me to speak, he seemed to have taken pity on my offended state. For that, I decided to forgive him about speaking up on the betting, I could admit, it wasn't all that illogical that he'd want me to not take part.

Although he did most of the speaking in the end, I was bluntly curious to learn about what life was like as a Dwarf.

Gloin was a banker and a father of a pair of twins, rare for Dwarves and he was very proud. His oldest (by a few minutes) was Gimli and showing me a photo I found that he looked very similar to Gloin.

The second oldest was a daughter called Amli who differed much feature wise. Although they were drawings, I could tell she was lither than Gloin and according to him she was a 'wee lass like yeu'. 'Yeu' being me. I decided not to take that as an insult.

His wife was also 'a wee lass like yeu' and she looked a lot like her daughter although she was incredibly beautiful. But… she had a beard. I had been confused at first, and when I asked about it I began receiving weird stares.

"Lass… most Dwarrow-dams have beards," Bofur said, "granted their's are normally smaller than ours bu' they're definitely there. You should see the lad's Mam, has a nicer beard than Gloin himself… that's rare though."

I nibbled at my bottom lip, "most?"

"You have a bit too M'Lady Stasi, if you don't mind me saying that is," Nori said waving his finger around at me.

"Don't _point_ Nori, it isn't _polite_ ," Dori said in absolute fury, "I've taught you better than that!"

" _Don't point Nori, it isn't polite_ ," Nori mimicked.

I widened my eyes as I swept a hand around my chin, but most of my attention was actually on the two brothers.

"Shut up."

"…haven't taught me…"

"Shut up."

"…not Amad…"

"Shut up."

"…had different fathers…"

Gloin began speaking again, obviously more than a little used to hearing the two siblings argue, "…anyways lass, yeu've got the startin's of somethin' there, strange that yeu've never heard Dwarrow-dams had beards."

I raised a skeptical eyebrow but made a mental note to check in the mirror. Sure, women having a beard may have been culture for Dwarves but I did _not_ want a beard.

"Not so strange actually," Gandalf reminded us from the front, "Stasi isn't _from here_. Therefore she knows nothing of the world around her."

Still annoyed with him, I aimed a glare at his back but he either didn't notice or ignored me… and it was Gandalf so it was probably the latter, _bloody homeless beggar of a wizard._

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

We set camp at a rock that had caved in with wind erosion near the edge of a precipice. Both Bilbo and I were a bit anxious at being so near to the cliff but I soon gave way to my worries. Who knew what Bilbo was thinking.

Bombur and Bofur made stew with solid food of rabbit, potato and carrot. Kili had managed to catch the rabbit and myself and Nori had gathered the potatoes and carrots. Bofur had gone out on his own to look for certain seasonings and I for one had never enjoyed travelers food as much as I did when Bombur cooked. Not even at an inn.

There was idle chat for a short hour but Nori and Dori completely ignored each other creating an uncomfortable silence for Ori. So far I wasn't surprised, Nori had yet to show any positive traits.

None of the Dwarves seemed to show a great interest in Bilbo although they probably only spoke to me because I myself was a Dwarf. In fact, Gloin had taken it upon himself to teach me all he could about Dwarvish customs. So far it was about food.

Food was very very important. And not just symbolically, Gloin claimed that wars had been waged over more fertile lands and while I could believe that, I was in shock when I heard that a chef was one of the highest paid Dwarves in a kingdom. Okay, so Dwarves… so _we_ Dwarves liked our food.

The night came to a sort of abrupt halt. The tension between Dori and Nori, that was, in fact, sitting right on top of Ori, had by no means dissipated and Nori went to bed with a sulky grunt.

Oin had left after that and Gloin had left with him, leaving the rest of us to soon join them.

I slept between Bilbo and Nori, Nori who seemed to fall asleep within a second. And I fell asleep quickly as well, until Bombur started snoring.

I swear I was yanked out of sleep so quickly I thought someone had slapped me upside the head. Which, wouldn't be surprising in itself seeing as Gandalf used to be my travelling companion.

Blowing a strand of hair out of my face I glanced around in confusion until my gaze landed on Bombur. I would have to stop being a light sleeper if he snored like that. It was a bit like a constant thunderstorm.

It was then that I realized that a _lot_ of the Dwarves snored. Nori was letting out huffs, Dori was making a nasally noise that sounded vaguely like a dolphin echo locating and Dwalin sounded like he was calling to his fellow T-Rex's.

I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to do until I heard someone whisper my name.

Kili and Fili sat under the caved in rock, and the latter of the two beckoned me over. Grabbing my notebook and charcoal from my bag I moved to sit beside the darker haired brother who was drawing what looked like a pig half eaten, in the soil with a stick, "nice self portrait," I complimented.

He gave me a look and as I pulled my notebook open I began to study the scene around me.

Both brothers looked confused until Kili realized I was drawing them. Fili seemed to use my drawing and studying of him to do the same to me whilst Kili moved to stare over my shoulder, "can you make him have the body of a horse?" Kili asked with a grin.

Fili shot his brother a look and I shook my head, wrinkling my nose in amusement, "nah, I like drawing accurately," I said, "and anyway, I wouldn't want to flatter him."

Kili grinned so wide I thought his teeth would pop out, "I like this one," he told his brother while pointing at me.

Fili seemed amused but continued to study me and Kili began poking at the fire, "what does it mean?" he finally asked.

I glanced up at him, shifting my charcoal in a more comfortable position, "what does what mean?" I asked nibbling at my bottom lip.

"That you're a Fairy… but a Dwarf at the same time. Are you half of each?" he asked.

I shook my head with a frown, "no, the way Gandalf explained was that a Fairy is simply a creature sent by the Valar to change fate."

"Who's fate?" Fili intervened, "and sent… how?"

I raised an eyebrow, "that's a lot of questions boys… you're curious about me?"

"Aye, you _seem_ like a Dwarf but we've never seen a Dwarf of your color," Fili admitted, "we've only heard of them in the war stories Thorin used to tell us."

I began on his hair, "probably because Dwarves aren't _meant_ to be my skin color. I was brought from another world Fili, so I'm a Dwarf but I was originally a human. Gandalf says my father was a Dwarf and my mother went through the same thing I did… only she went home afterwards."

Kili nodded, "and your mother… was she a Dwarf-Fairy thing?"

I nodded, "so said Gandalf… but he's a wizard, you never really know what he really _truly_ means."

"And you will go home after this?" the darker haired Dwarf asked.

I shook my head, "no… I'm practically dead in my world. I was in an accident and now I can't wake up… or that's what I _think_ is happening anyways."

Fili and Kili both looked shocked, "I'm… I'm sorry, we didn't know," Fili said.

I shrugged, "it's alright, I'm here for a reason… and anyways, maybe I'll gain a father… though, try not to tell everyone why I'm here," I added, "everyone knows I'm a Seer and a Fairy but the rest that I told you… that's kind of personal information."

They nodded importantly and Fili opened his mouth to ask another question but he was interrupted by a wolfish scream in the distance.

I almost dropped my charcoal and Bilbo skittered towards us, "What was that?"

There was a silence and I glanced back at the brothers with a frown, did they want me to…

"Orcs," Kili answered stoically, his voice oddly serious.

I glanced around just in time to see Thorin jolt awake just at the word. His had instinctively went to his sword and I felt an odd prickling in my gut. A feeling akin to sympathy yet not so much that.

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, attempting at whispering but rousing a couple of the other members of the company.

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there," Fili explained.

 _These Dwarves have a knack for scaring the Hobbit,_ I thought raising an eyebrow at the brothers.

Kili continued, despite catching the raised eyebrow I had given him, "The lone-lands are crawling with them, they strike in the wee hours of the morning when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots and lots of blood."

Bilbo's gaze grew panicky and I frowned at him and I pulled at my sleeves in slight concern. Until I heard the brothers laugh and the Hobbit visibly relaxed… bar the embarrassed flush of his cheeks and stiffening of his shoulders as he realized he had been the victim of a joke. A joke in bad taste that is.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin's deep thick voice cut into their laughter like a hot knife through butter and I winced, "You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?"

Kili looked like a wounded puppy and Fili looked down at the floor, "We didn't mean anything by it."

I glanced to Thorin who frowned with so much anger I desperately wanted to look away, "No you didn't. You know nothing of the world."

As he walked away, the gazes of the two brothers followed him and I glanced down, "Don't mind him laddie, Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs," Balin said.

I jumped not realizing the older Dwarf had been awake, "…how so?"

He frowned deeply, more so for the memory than my question, "After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria," he said, a sudden sharp look entering his normally sweet gaze, "…but our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler."

The old Dwarfs nose wrinkled with blatant disgust, "The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began... by beheading the king. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, Taken prisoner or killed… we did not know."

I glanced towards Thorins back, remembering when we had spoken in Bree, admiration of how determined he was, "We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him, a young Dwarf prince facing down the pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken."

Something made me want to smile at that but I held it back, a situation to serious for smiling, "Our forces rallied and we drove the Orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated but there was no feast nor song that night for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived, and I thought to myself then: there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call king. "

I stood alongside the rest of the Dwarves in respect for Thorin as he turned. Whether he had heard or not I didn't know, but it didn't matter I suppose.

"And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?"

Bilbo's voice broke us all our of our reverie and I glanced to Balin only to have Thorin himself answer the question, "He slunk back into the hole whence he came," he spat, "That filth died of his wounds long ago."

I nodded in acceptance and bid Fili and Kili goodnight as I went to lay down in bed. I fell asleep immediately, but instead of the much needed embrace of rest, I received a shocking reality.

 _ **A/N - So, I know that Stasi seems a little selfish, rude, and judgy in this chapter, but I did that by purpose. There's still a lot of growth as a character that she needs to go through and she**_ _ **will**_ __ _ **be going through it. I just wanted to say that she's really**_ _ **not**_ __ _ **a Mary Sue but, nonetheless, even at this point there are a lot of good things about her, just wait and see.**_

 _ **Once again, thank you so much for reading! I'm so shocked and grateful that so many people are reading my story and favoriteing me, I'd love to hear your comments and tips. – Medusa101**_


	5. Chapter 5

**RE: I own nothing but the small sub plot and my OCs, the rest of it is work of Tolkien and the 'The Hobbit' films**

 **Rated T - Language, crude jokes**

 **Chapter 5: could they be true?**

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

 _My hazy vision and pounding head were the first things that greeted me. When had I opened my eyes? I didn't know, but the question was swept out of my mind with no answer as I surveyed what was around me._

 _Smoke rose into the sky and fires crackled and burned here and there. What shocked me were the bodies. Everywhere felled bodies of Orcs, grizzled mutant creatures and Dwarves lay in bloody heaps of death and destruction. It was a mass murder of life and I stood in the center of it, surrounded by the gaunt scene of death and carnage._

 _I tried to breathe but found myself coughing out the smell of rancid smoke and another smell I couldn't recognize that was acetous and pungent. I stood on some sort of mountainside, the vegetation and any sort of land marking indiscernible because of the magnitude of the land filled with bodies and carcasses._

 _My feet were soaked… I was standing in a puddle of blood._

 _It was then that a noise came to my ears and I stiffened, the sound of wails and cries cacophonous and loud in the buzz of my own thoughts. I forced my legs to move, they were heavy and at any moment I was sure I would collapse._

 _Through the throng of dead warriors, I_ _climbed_ _over heaps of dead bodies and finally found the source of the noise. Two dwarves huddled together, clutching at each other, screams and moans of anguish coming from both of them. But that wasn't what I fixed my gaze on._

 _At their feet lay a bloody form that was mutilated and almost beyond recognition. But of course,_ _of course_ _the one part that I could clearly see was the face._

 _The woman had soft brown eyes and her hair was tattered but at one point I was sure it had been beautiful. A heavy bruising lay under her left eye and the skin of her chin, which I was sure must have matched the smoothness of her cheeks was torn and bloodied. She had thin and sculpted features that were perfect and her lips were open in a final gasp._

 _I knelt down, my knees brushing the floor and reached to touch the forehead of this woman. I knew her. She was dead, but I knew her._

 _A wail of fury and torment came from the two Dwarves who still stood grasping at each other and I leaned over the body. My Mom._

 _Tears were dripping down my face like individual rivers before I could even stop them, and I opened my mouth, ready to scream with the two Dwarves. It was an agonizing sadness that afflicted me for the second time in my life. My mother lay dead in front of me. Her enchanting brown eyes were sightless and the last emotion that had ever lay on her face was one of fear. Utter fear._

 _When I tried to scream, to voice my despair, nothing came out, and I succumbed to a blackness that was unwelcomed and terrifying._

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

I woke up with a start for the second time in one night. My own gasps filled the space around me but it wasn't because I needed air. Stumbling into a sitting position from where I lay beside Nori, I grabbed my water flask and took a huge gulp. I ended up choking and coughing on the water, muffling the noise into my sleeve as I tried to contain myself.

Finally, when all the liquid had left me, I lay back down, staring at the skies above and desperately trying to get the brutal scenes out of my head. I wanted to go home, home to my couch and the warmth of my fireplace. Where dragons, wizards and Dwarves didn't exist.

It was then that a cold wetness appeared on my arm and I tensed before I realized that Remy had slid in between myself and Nori. I scooted to the side and he curled up into me, offering up licks and whines and the unconditional love that only he gave me.

I fell asleep with my blanket thrown haphazardly to the side and an arm around Remy. I did not dream, instead I floated in a soundless oblivion.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

I was determined to bring myself to act like nothing had happened the next day, especially to Gandalf, but I knew that the wizard sensed my fear and confusion. In fact, I was in denial about wanting to go speak to him because I was angry at him yet I yearned for the comfort and familiarity of Gandalf's riddles.

I rode beside Dori who spoke almost nonstop. I wanted something to fill my thought bubbles whether it be with his favorite type of tea, how irritating Nori was or his tailoring business.

And anyway, we agreed on one thing, Nori was _really_ irritating.

Gandalf knew I was out of sorts, but for the next week I completely avoided him unless completely necessary. I was brewing in my irritation and it only got worse as time proved to show that he seemingly had no problem with it.

 _Bloody Wizard._

I found myself questioning my dreaming whenever I was left to think for myself. I had assumed that the dream was part of the past Middle Earth because Gandalf _had_ told me my Mom had died trying to achieve her goal. Was it that battle that Balin had spoken about? Had Mom died there?

But yet again I was a Seer, did I even have the abilities to see into the past? It could've been a very realistic dream for all I knew?

The Orange River Dream that Gandalf had said was my first vision had felt just as real as this one… only Gandalf wasn't always right, and maybe I was just having nightmares. I wanted to quiz the wizard but if I did that then I'd have to _not_ be holding a grudge on him and it was hard not to.

A week turned into two, and soon I found myself genuinely missing my Wizards company. Since I had lived in Middle Earth, I had never really spent more than a week without talking to Gandalf… but I had always stayed with him. Now, I couldn't even remember the last time I had rode my Pony by him.

Staring out at the flowing water that we had been marching along, I glanced forwards to the back of Dori's head. I had slowed down after three hours of conversation and now, somehow, Bofur and Nori had began marching alongside me. It had been a long time since I had really talked to them during the journey and I was eager to start again.

Bofur was an engaging character, a little blunt but he had a sense of humor as big as his heart. And he really did have a big heart, he was sympathetic and down to earth and I already loved that about him.

Perhaps Nori wasn't quite the Dwarf I had thought he was. He was definitely snobby, annoying, and a bit rude, but as time had passed I grew to learn of his genuine love for his brothers and realized that the true reason for undertaking this adventure was not 'for the gold'. He just wanted to be with his family.

There had been a few jokes between us here and there but not much, and anyways, Nori was always avoiding Dori just as I was Gandalf. Once I had started speaking to Dori, Nori had kept away from me like a mouse to a cat and Bofur had seemingly chosen to leave me alone for reasons that had more to do so with my sudden silence. I could only imagine that it seemed like I wanted him to leave me alone which, was completely wrong.

"When we cross I vote we push the lads in," Nori said suddenly, breaking my train of thought and the silence.

My gaze traveled to him and I raised an eyebrow, "excuse me?"

He nodded towards the river, "when we cross we should push the lads in."

I glanced to the river and blanched, it was orange, "oh my God, has it always been that color?!"

Bofur glanced to me from my right, "yeu okay lass?" he asked, "we've been walkin' alongside it for the las' hour an' a half."

I glanced to him, eyes wide as I took in his seriousness, "umm… I'm fine," I finally established. The dream had an orange river… but there were such things as orange rivers… at home there were anyways. It had to just be a dream… anyways, the dialogue wasn't exactly the same.

"What do you say?" Nori asked, "do we push the lads in?"

I sent the star haired Dwarf a look, " _no_ , are you mad? They'd be caught in the rapids. And anyways, how do you know we'll cross?"

"Everyone knows we're going to _cross_ ," Nori said rolling his eyes.

I glanced to Bofur who raised an eyebrow at me, "aye lass, Thorin said it yesterday. Are yeu' sure ye're alright?"

I shrugged, "a little distracted but fine."

"Wait… yeu' haven't been seein' things have yeu?" he asked, pulling his pipe out of his mouth.

I hesitated, "…no, no, I don't think so Bofur," I said, I knew I sounded uncertain but I avoided his gaze, hopeful of no more questions. Unfortunately the moment I said that, Gandalf glanced back, blue eyes fixed keenly on my own in a glare that said even more than I managed to read.

I gave him a cold look and his lower lip wrinkled in a frown before he faced forwards once again, "but the lads?" Nori asked, seemingly oblivious to the interaction I had just had with the wizard.

I didn't bother answering but I could tell that he and Bofur were giving each other dubious and curious glances behind my back. I ignored them.

"We cross here!" Thorin's voice echoed down the line, around three ponies in front of us, only fifteen minutes later, "the waters are quick but it's shallower here."

He began yelling orders, someone threw a rope to the other side and soon we had Dwalin, Dori and Fili in the water. Kili went next and then I did.

 _Just a coincidence,_ it was all I could think to myself, _nothing's going to happen._

The water may have been shallower there but it was still incredibly deep, going up to my shoulder blades and Kili's torso. To make everything better, it was as cold as ice and my belly was swimming with nervousness and hesitation.

Glancing around, I looked for Gandalf only to find that the wizard was nowhere to be seen. _Where is he? If he knew something terrible was going to happen like me and Kili drowning… he'd stick around right?_

But yet all the same he was angry at me so perhaps he wouldn't. I grew frustrated at that, _he probably left._ But we'd be fine, nothing bad was going to happen. _Nothing's going to happen._

But suddenly, Kili slipped, and his pony was pulled so low that her muzzle went straight into the river. Frightened she reared up, and in turn, so did Millie, my pony. Desperately trying to keep my pony in control, I grabbed her harness just as she attempted to bolt. She crashed straight into me and I went flying into Kili, who collapsed with me into the water. With both of us losing our footing we were swept downstream and into the rapids.

Water streamed into my nose painfully, and the more I tried to cough, the more water came in through my mouth. I felt a hand clutch at mine and I grasped back at Kili's hand.

Coughing I desperately tried to keep my head above water, managing only for a second before I was thrust back under. My eyes stung with the grit from the bed of the river and I crashed once again into Kili who managed to grapple me along my waist.

I didn't know how far away we had been swept but suddenly we were slammed into a bolder. There was a cracking noise and I gasped as we were thrust upwards for a second. That second didn't last, and even as we tried to hold onto the boulder we were swept past it.

It was then that I tasted the salty metallic tang and heard Kili let out a yell. The yell didn't last, and once again, we went under. This time I didn't remember coming back up.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

My head was pounding like a hammer when I came to. _What in the name of bollocks happened?_

I tried to draw what had happened out into my head, but it was too difficult. I had been walking with Nori and Bofur behind Dori, Gandalf had glared at me… why had he glared at me again?

"Bloody shite," I moaned. My head hurt, it _really_ hurt.

Something shifted beside me, "your language is atrocious."

 _Piss off._

I decided not to answer, instead opting for the opening of my eyes slowly. I didn't like what my gaze was greeted with.

Waving a hand in front of my face I desperately tried to get rid of whatever was blocking my left eye from seeing the world properly. Something seemed to be hanging over my vision so it felt like I was squinting, "what the hell is that?"

There was a burst of laughter from my right and I glanced to a hazy view of Bofur, who was smoking a minty smelling pipe, "lass, yeu won't go anywhere wavin' about like tha'. Ye've got a bruisin' there, tha's what's blockin' out half or ye're eyesight," he said.

I furrowed my brow which resulted in a twang of pain, " _ouch_ ," I snapped, reaching up to gingerly touch my face. _Shit that_ _ **hurts**_ **.**

From what I could feel, there was a huge lump over my face and for once, I was happy that I had never bothered to buy myself a mirror, "I bet I look lovely… what happened?"

"You don't remember?"

It was then that I realized that Nori sat to my left, arms crossed with a permanently grumpy look on his face, "…no."

"Kili slipped in the river and you two went flying down," he explain, "hit your head on a boulder you did, we thought you were lost."

It came back to me slowly, piece by piece and I moaned aloud, "I am such an idiot."

"Aye, yeu should've let the ponies loose," Bofur agreed without hesitation, I sent him a look which he seemed not to notice, "if it weren't for Gandalf yeu'd be dead."

I blinked slowly… and painfully, "Sorry?"

"If ye'd let go of the horses, both of yeu'd've been alright," he said, "Kili wouldn't have dislocated anythin' and yeu wouldn't have had a concussion. Not to mention that we lost Kili's pony."

"No… _Gandalf_ ," I told him, "what do you mean 'if it weren't for _Gandalf_ '?"

Bofur raised an eyebrow and glanced to Nori for a moment, "the wizard pulled the both of yeu out of the water. Gave us a right fright, he did. Disappearin' for a moment and then reappearin' to save yeu, as if he'd known it would happen."

I groaned and leaned back. Remy who was laying on top of my legs gave me a look as if to say, _'_ _you're an idiot'_ and I rolled my eyes, "he _did_ know it would happen," I finally said, aware of the eyes that stared at me, "where is he?"

"Sat 'imself by the lake he did," Nori said looking a bit confused, "'e's been chanting in elvish or some nonsense like that."

Suddenly becoming aware of my surroundings I glanced around. Kili and Fili sat in one corner, Kili wincing as Oin busied around him and Fili seeming tense. The rest of the Dwarvse were scattered around randomly and from what I could tell, we were in the clearing on the other side of the river from where I had remembered us being last.

I bit at my lip tiredly and glanced down to Remy who was yet to change the expression he was fixing me with, "elvish isn't 'nonesense' Nori," I told the Dwarf beside me before getting up and stepping past Gloin.

"Ye okay lass? Ye took a mighty hard hit there."

"Yeah, I'm good thanks," I said, nodding to the Dwarf.

Unfortunately any chance of reaching Gandalf soon was cut off when I was surrounded completely by Fili and Kili. The latter of the two spewing out 'sorry's' like vomit and the prior tipping my head to the side to view my bruise, "aye, it's a shiner you have there," Fili said, waving his brother away "…be careful next time Ki, someone could've gotten badly hurt."

Kili looked adorably guilty and I shifted as Fili removed his hand from my face, "don't worry about it Kili… how's your arm?" I asked.

He seemed to practically melt with relief once he realized I held no ill will towards him and smiled brilliantly, "grand… well, other than the fact that it hurts like a Wargs' bite."

I felt a flash of guilt course through me and sighed deeply, "it's good we weren't hurt more seriously," I said feeling slightly annoyed with myself, "and… I have to apologize. You see, I had this dream back in Bilbo's house that happened to show me something like this… only I didn't believe Gandalf when he told me I was Seeing."

Both brothers looked entirely confused for a moment, but then realization dawned on their faces. Kili seemed almost uncertain as to how to react but Fili frowned deeply

"You knew this would happen?" Kili asked.

"Well… I wouldn't say _that_. It was the first dream of mine that ever came true," I said, "Gandalf said I was Seeing but I didn't believe him."

Kili furrowed his brow studying me for a moment, "…it's alright… but you should listen to the Wizard, he's lived ages longer than any of us and his wisdom exceeds ours."

I nodded, "I know … I'm sorry."

"You should be," a new voice said. We turned to look at Thorin who was seated closely behind us his pipe in hand, "your carelessness and disdain has cost us a pony and Kili's aim."

I pulled at my sleeves self consciously and avoided the icy glare that was threatening to pin me to the floor, "I'm really sorry..."

Thorin glared up at me, "as am I.

He glanced away in dismissal and I stepped away from the brothers, not quite able to make eye contact with either of them in that moment. To avoid further conversation with them, I made my way to Gandalf. The rest of the company shooting me sympathetic looks, annoyed ones or completely ignoring ones.

Gandalf did not glance up as I neared him but I didn't expect him to. He was smug anyways, I could tell by the small smile I spied on his face as sat next to him. The Wizard was seated on a flat rock that overlooked the stream and I chose to not say anything to him, opting for him to speak first.

He took in a wheezing sigh before taking out his pipe and scratching the old burnt out leaves from it. He said nothing.

I shifted uncomfortably and pulled at my sleeves, glancing to me, the Wizard raised an eyebrow, "what's got you so riled my dear Stasi?"

I sent him a cross look, as he lit the pipe a light with a finger before taking a deep breath of air, "…I'm sorry Gandalf, I should've listened to you."

The Wizards non-chalant expression turned to a stern and grave one, "that you should. I am a wizard Stasi… and not for just my elvish chants and riddles. There is wisdom in what I speak of, and it would do you good to listen sometimes."

I continued to pull at my sleeves, "you have my sincerest apologies Gandalf."

The Wizard grunted in acceptance and let out a breath of smoke. Even with the events of the past day, I couldn't help but feel a little bit giddy at the fact that I had my Wizard back.

 **-{}-{}-{}-**

The next few days went by in a flash and I found myself charged with sharing my pony with Kili. His own had gotten lost during the incident at the river, and Thorin had told me I would be riding with him. Kili, much to his annoyance, was unable to lead a pony properly due to his shoulder so he found himself latched onto my waist for the few days.

At first I was sure that there would be plenty of awkward silences due to my mistake with the dream, but I was completely wrong. Kili chattered and chattered like a monkey, seemingly forgetting what had happened at the river. He _always_ had something to say whether it be a story about his childhood, a tease towards some poor victim or simply adding into a conversation or story.

Kili had always rode alongside Fili, and Fili continued to ride alongside him. Thus, I found myself getting to know both of the Durin princes and greatly enjoying the both of them.

The youngest of the two of them was Kili. He was the most immature out of all of us and he had a generally cheery and optimistic disposition. His sense of humor was a flurry of teasing and outlandish tales of what he liked to call his 'younger days'. Although… considering he still dutifully pranked the more 'laid-back' members of the company, he was speaking about his 'current days'.

He loved to laugh, that much was obvious. He had a smile that would light up (especially when Fili or I were being teased) and a laugh that was kind of like a bomb. It burst out randomly and loudly and among it was littered several signature 'Kili' snorts that just had us all laughing harder.

Fili was the older of the two and although he was a little quieter, he was no less easier to talk to. He held an air of maturity about him, but it took nothing away from his playful and teasing attitude towards everyone around him. I can tell you, when Fili teases, he comes out on top. And I'm not going to lie, I had kind of assumed he'd be more serious than he actually was as the crown prince, but Fili was completely down to earth.

He seemed very relaxed as a person and he, alongside Kili, would join in on some of the pranks. According to Kili's stories, Fili had never ending ideas about pranks when they were only Dwarflings. Although most of the tales Kili had told us were about his own plans, we all knew when Fili had planned them because he'd smirk and add his own tidbits the whole way through.

Fili puzzled me though. He had a swagger that would put Lil Wayne to shame and a deep voice that practically screamed ladies man… and although there was a hint of cockiness, Fili seemed to have no interest in women. Or so I had seen when we passed by towns.

We made a number of pit stops, usually only for a day to buy some more supplies, or, if Thorin was in a good mood, we'd spend a night at an Inn and have a proper rest and a _bath_.

Daver was one town on our way that was filled with travelers. It was a bit like Bree but more expensive and there were actual _cobblestones_. This was, of course, a major relief seeing as most towns had no cobblestones and we'd had to march through mud. Oh how I missed pavement.

During this particular stop, I had ended up with Nori and Bofur at the Inn that Mr. Majestic (Thorin) had given us permission to stay at. We were all shoved together at a circular table, sipping at our pints (unless you were Bofur then you were gulping rapidly) languidly as we tried to keep our attention to ourselves.

The tavern wasn't too busy but it was busy enough to make a scene. And Dwarves were normally good at that. Fortunately the bruises on my face were almost faded and because of my skin tone the darkness of the tavern made them hard to see anyways. Any woman with bruises attracted attention and in our case, even if it was well founded attention, it would be bad.

I glanced down into my jug of ale before looking to the two Dwarves, "it's been a while guys, what's up with you?" I asked, with genuine curiosity, I felt a bit bad that I had spent so much less time with them. Even at the campfire I was either surrounded by the twins or Gandalf was teaching me about different languages, races or magic. Nori and Bofur were the social butterflies of the group so it wasn't as if they were lacking in friends but they had been the first of the Dwarves to form a relationship with me.

"The brothers… are driving me _mad_ ," Nori told me leaning forward, "I can't even get meself a decent sleep without Dori telling Ori to put on his mittens, or him telling me to sit up straight. Why do I need to sit straight? You're not sitting straight. Bofur's not sitting straight."

"Well… sitting up straight _is_ good for your back in all fairness Nori. In my case, I've been riding a horse with an annoying Dwarrow for the past five hours so please forgive me if I'm not sitting straight. Bofur's just not the best example for postural positivity… especially when he's drunk, so please forgive him," I said.

Nori looked terribly disappointed at my reply and Bofur gave me a strange look, "Ah'm not drunk," he told me rather breezily whilst waving his pint around, "It'll take a lot more than this to get me 'ammered lass."

 _Wait,_ I thought suddenly, narrowing my eyes thoughtfully, _does it take longer for Dwarves to get drunk?_

"Aye lass, it does, it does," Bofur said reading my question through my expression, "give it another ten pints before ah' get anywhere near tipsy. These are all watered down, they are. An' anyways, ah'll be runnin' to the loo before ah'm drunk, in fact, they'll be comin' out of me…"

"No, no, no no!" I interrupted waving a finger in front of Bofur's handlebar moustache, " _way_ too much information thank you very much, I need not know about your toilet rituals."

At that moment the door to the tavern burst open loudly from behind me and familiar shouts brought my attention to the entrance, "Stasi! Stasi! You won't believe what me and Fili discovered about… _Oi!_ That _hurt_!"

I glanced back and raised an eyebrow at Fili, Kili, Dori and Bifur who were coming our way. Kili was holding his shoulder whilst shooting his older brother a glare and Fili was rolling his eyes, "we're in a bar Kili, try not to draw so much attention to us."

Kili flipped his brother the bird and I snorted with amusement. I'd been with the Dwarves awhile and as the first Dwarves that I'd really met, I found myself shocked with a lot of things, the main one being the _amount_ of cursing that went on among them. Apart from a select few, the rest of the Dwarves had language worst than mine.

"Nori, you best be coming with me. I've found a shop that sells new blankets. Your's has holes and all sorts of tears in it," Dori practically ordered his brother, basically proving Nori's past point.

Nori braced himself for an argument but Bofur slapped him on the back, "looks like Bifur wants me as well lad, we can all go together."

"What? And who'll stay with me?" I asked skeptically, not at all liking the sound of what was going on, "you can't just…"

My mouth formed a round 'o' shape as Fili and Kili plopped themselves in what had been Bofur's and Nori's seats, Fili taking a mouthful of what was left of Nori's ale, "yeah, you might not want to do that," I told Fili pointing at the jug, "Nori stole that from some random person."

Fili rapidly spat whatever was in his mouth back into the pint before pushing it away with an _'_ _eurgh'_. Kili, meanwhile, looked at Bofurs practically empty one, grabbed the one Fili had pushed away and poured what was remaining into Bofurs pint. I watched Kili take long gulps before I glanced to Fili who looked mildly disgusted, "Ki… Ki' can you please _not_?" I asked, wrinkling my nose and glancing to the younger brother.

"Wha?"

I made eye contact with Fili who shook his head and mouthed, _'_ _don't bother'_.

"Eh, okay… so did you guys get anything?" I asked sipping on my own pint, _other than mononucleosis._

"Aye, Fili got his pony's hooves done and I got a few new arrow heads. Also, we discovered that you can _oil_ your beer," Kili said. A that I shot him a weird look while Fili rolled his eyes, he didn't seem to notice any of it, "what of you, are you going to get anything?"

I shook my head trying to shake off the thought of 'oiling beer', "no, I was thinking about getting a new belt and tunic but I might wait for the next town to do that."

"Aye, your belt's practically fallin' apart," Fili agreed, "you should probably wear somethin' else like a harness seein' as you have an axe that's that big – not to mention your twin swords."

I shrugged, "probably so, but they're more expensive and bothersome to put on and take off."

Fili blinked at me, "not so… they're pretty simple."

"Perhaps she's daft," Kili said with a grin.

I shot him a look and Fili snorted, "I can show you next time you need to get one… or Dwalin. Probably Dwalin."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Dwalin?"

"Dwalin."

"Fi, Dwalin won't be going anywhere with me," I told him, I had started calling both of them 'Fi' and 'Ki', although Fili had been skeptical he had let it pass – Kili was oddly proud when I had done so, "he is so far the one person who hasn't spoken to me. Bombur's spoken more to me."

"Ah, you'll be grand," Kili told me, taking another gulp of his ale and ignoring the look of blatant disgust upon both Fili's and my face, "he's nice enough, a bit gruff mayhap but that's what comes of fighting through so many wars."

Feeling curious I set my pint down, "what wars?"

"Well, there was the Battle of Azanulbizar with Thorin – the one Balin told us about an age ago… though they call it a battle so I'm not sure if it makes it a _war_ ," Kili said, Fili gave his brother a weird look, "and… well he was always the Captain of the Guard really so he was always fighting and stuff."

"Is he good at battle?" I asked.

"Aye, well he best be, he trained Kili and I," Fili said, "Thorin'll want him to do the same to you really."

I looked at Fili with confusion, "bu… I know how to fight though."

Fili, who was scratching into the table with a knife glanced up at me, blue eyes sharp as the dagger he was using, "you think Thorin'll take that?"

" _No_ ," I said miserably.

"Aye, he also wants to best you in training," Fili said.

Now I was officially horrified, " _What?!"_

Fili grinned, seemingly enjoying my reaction to all that he was saying, "Aye, you told him you'd battle with him when we were at Bilbo's house."

I held my head in my hands while Kili observed me curiously, "oh for the love of God, why do I _always_ get myself into stuff like this."

"Perhaps it has to do with mental capabilities," Kili said slyly.

"Brother, you're drinking from a pint that has the saliva of myself, Bofur, Nori and some weird vagabond that Nori stole the pint from," Fili said, "I would highly recommend you _not_ to mention the mental capabilities of others."

I shot Kili a smug grin and he looked unregretful as he took another sip of his pint. My grin fell away from my face rather rapidly, "ew, that's _mank_."

Kili stuck his tongue out at me, "you're mank."

"You're the child of a Warg," I shot back.

"You're the child of an Orc," was Kili's response.

"You're the child of a Cave Troll," I snapped back.

Fili snorted with laughter and Kili and I both sent him weird looks. The blonde prince looked at us with confusion, "…what?"

"We're brothers you dunce," Kili said pointedly.

Fili wrinkled his nose before turning to me, "you're the child of a goblin."

I frowned, "I've never seen a goblin," I said with genuine curiosity whilst forgetting about the insult.

"Dori has a mirror if you'd like?" Fili said with a sly grin.

I flipped him off and opened my mouth to respond but was interrupted by someone dropping something that was made entirely of leather on the table. Instead of focusing on the item we all glanced up to see… Thorin. Shit, I had flipped Fili off when Thorin was behind me. Said Dwarf shot me a cold look before leaving me with his nephews and marching through the crowds towards the stairs that lead up to the rooms in the Inn.

Kili and Fili were already examining the item on the table and identical grins appeared on their faces, "it's a harness, he got you a harness," Kili said, "that must mean he doesn't doubt you that much."

"How comforting," I replied, my voice laced with sarcasm.

Fili snorted and shoved the thing towards me, "it's well made, your axe and swords should fit."

I glanced to the direction in which Thorin had disappeared, curiosity in my gaze. What had spurred him on to purchase the harness? Was it the fact that he thought I needed something to properly hold my weapons in? So it'd be easier for me to use them – maybe he thought I _could_ do some damage! Or was it because he didn't want me to do anyone an injury?

 _That might just be the more logical reason,_ I thought grimly with a deep sitting frown, _Good Lord, I'm so_ _so_ _fucked._

 **I wasn't so sure about that chapter but I was well aware that I hadn't posted in an age and I really wanted to get another one that was at least satisfiable** **down. Hopefully this was. I'd love to hear your reviews and your advice, thank you so much for reading!**

 **-Medusa101**


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